Tajudeen Raji, Head of Public Health Institutes and Research at Africa CDC, speaks to Xinhua reporter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 4, 2020. (Xinhua/Shiferaw Tadesse)
The Africa CDC hailed China's measures and efforts as well as its support to other countries including African countries in the battle against COVID-19. An official said that China CDC has deployed a senior technical advisor to Africa CDC, who is closely working with experts of Africa CDC, especially on supporting the Africa Taskforce on COVID-19.
ADDIS ABABA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Reiterating the close cooperation forged between the African Union (AU) Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and China CDC on public health and especially against the COVID-19 outbreak, an Africa CDC official has hailed China's efforts and measures as well as its cooperation and support to African and other countries in the battle against the outbreak.
Speaking to Xinhua on Wednesday, Tajudeen Raji, head of Public Health Institutes and Research, recalled the recently established Africa Taskforce on COVID-19, and that China CDC has been closely working with Africa CDC, providing support to the taskforce.
The continental taskforce, which comprises experts across Africa, oversees major areas including surveillance, infection prevention and control, clinical management of patients with severe coronavirus infection, risk communication and community management.
Stating China's robust expertise and experience in dealing with such outbreak, Raji said that Africans also rely on the Chinese expertise and experience to be well prepared, prevent and response to the outbreak.
He also noted that China CDC has deployed a senior technical advisor to Africa CDC, who is closely working with experts of Africa CDC, especially supporting the Africa Taskforce on COVID-19.
"We have been working closely with China CDC since this outbreak started even long before it was declared as public health emergency of international concern. We have been sharing information on how best to respond to the outbreak as a continent," he said.
"We have a senior technical advisor from China CDC who is working closely with us; he has been participating actively as far as Africa Taskforce on coronavirus is concerned; provides the necessary advice. In terms of experience, in responding to this outbreak, China has enormous experience," he said. "So, we rely on their expertise and their experience as Africans to be able to prevent and to respond to this outbreak; so we are working closely with them (the Chinese)."
Speaking of China's measures and efforts as far as taming the outbreak, Raji has hailed the measures taken from the outset by China, for which he said the entire world has congratulated the country.
In terms of response to this outbreak, the entire world has actually congratulated China because when the cases started China informed the whole world that there is an outbreak of unknown disease going on in their country, in their province, in central China, and even going to share the genetic information. So, they have really, really done very well."
"And in terms of even supporting other countries, especially in Africa, they have been sharing all relevant information, typical example is a case management, a manual or a protocol, you know, they have shared it with us. This is also something that is guiding our responses to the ongoing as far as clinical care is concerned. Even in terms of materials, they have also given sizeable number of diagnostic kits to support our member states."
Stating that no single country or institution can do alone in dealing with the issues, Raji has further emphasized that there should be strong communication, collaboration, and coordination among countries and different concerned bodies to be better prepared and properly respond to the disease.
"Africa CDC, we have put in place a Taskforce as I said earlier on, the Africa Taskforce on Coronavirus, we have political endorsement for this Taskforce, our ministers of health endorsed this," he said.
"The emphasis by ministers of health has always been information sharing is very, very important and also collaboration. So, we need to work together in a very collaborative manner. So, communication, collaboration, coordination, is very, very important."
He also reiterated that Africa CDC has been working closely with different partners, including among others, public health agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), national public health institutes, and health research institutes, and most importantly ministries across the continent. ■