The proposed construction of the new Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is expected to begin this year, ahead of schedule.
Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China, made the proposal to begin the Center’s construction earlier during the recent China-Africa summit. The decision aims to help Africa contain the coronavirus pandemic, the president said. “The new Africa CDC will play a major role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic across Africa and China will continue to do whatever it can to support Africa’s response to the virus,” he noted. The African Union has given the mandate in June last year for the Chinese government to construct the $80-billion new Africa CDC headquarters building. The new Africa CDC headquarters building will be built in a Village, south of Addis Ababa, on a site that covers an area of approximately 90,000 square meters. The construction area alone will rest on nearly 40,000 square meters. The facility, upon completion, will hold a fully furnished operation center, a data center, a laboratory, a resource center, briefing rooms, a training center, a conference center, offices, and expatriate apartments.
The Chinese president added his country will work “tirelessly” hand in hand with Africa for the full delivery of the healthcare initiative adopted at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation’s Beijing Summit. As part of the initiative, he pointed out, the construction of China-Africa Friendship Hospitals and the cooperation between paired-up Chinese and African hospitals will speed up. “Together, we will build a China-Africa community of health for all,” Xi Jinping stressed.
