In Addis Ababa on 23 September 2025, Professor Francis Kasolo, WHO Representative a.i. to Ethiopia and the African Union, met with H.E. Ambassador Jiang Feng, Head of Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the AU, to reaffirm the longstanding partnership between WHO and China in advancing public health across Africa and explore deeper cooperation through the AU’s health architecture.
Ambassador Jiang praised WHO’s role in strengthening health systems, enhancing emergency preparedness, and promoting public health on the continent. He highlighted China’s commitment to support Africa by sharing lessons from its primary health care system, expanding collaboration in traditional medicine, and backing local production of medicines and vaccines. He also emphasized the potential of a WHO–AU–China partnership to safeguard health for all Africans.
Professor Kasolo expressed gratitude for China’s consistent support to Africa’s health sector, including contributions to institutions such as Africa CDC. He outlined WHO’s priorities, including reinforcing primary health care, advancing local production, accelerating the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency, and fostering innovative health financing. He noted that sustainable health systems and alignment of partner investments with national priorities remain central to WHO’s collaboration with the AU.
Both parties agreed that structured collaboration through the AU health architecture is critical to ensure coherence, avoid duplication, and maximize impact for member states. The courtesy visit represented a key step in strengthening tripartite cooperation among WHO, the AU, and China, reinforcing their shared commitment to resilient health systems and improved health outcomes for all Africans.
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