Belt and Road Initiative Turns 10: Africa CDC's new HQ represents broadening China-Africa medical cooperation
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HUANG YUE Addis Ababa, Ethiopia "The bustling city of Addis Ababa now has a new landmark, and it's right behind me. The new headquarters of the Africa CDC."

The phase one project of the new headquarters of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention was officially inaugurated in January this year.

The facility includes administrative offices, an emergency response center, an information center, and advanced biological laboratories.

HU PAN Africa CDC Project Manager China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. "What you are seeing now is a biological safety third-level laboratory, which is the first of its kind in Africa, and there are two such labs in the new headquarters. In addition, there are six second-level labs, which can greatly help improve the level of medical research in Africa."

The project was first announced in 2018 during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing.

Breaking ground in late 2020, the construction of the building coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which posed great challenges to the work.

But after 25 months, the phase one project of the building was successfully completed and has been handed over to the African side.

MOUSSA FAKI MAHAMAT Chairperson African Union Commission "The futuristic building embodies the shared aspirations of China and Africa to develop their partnership, as evidenced by the collaborative efforts of the two countries to improve their people's well-being. The newly built headquarters exemplifies the benefits of China-Africa health cooperation."

As the first pan-African center of disease control and prevention, the new headquarters is expected to help the continent respond faster to emergencies and better benefit African people.

HU PAN Africa CDC Project Manager China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. "You can see there's a huge screen here, which can display the map of Africa and the graphs of different diseases, such as COVID-19, Ebola, monkeypox and dengue. When it's officially put into use, it can fortify Africa's public health system and capacity."

The Africa CDC staff have settled into their new offices.

The state-of-the-art headquarters is also expecting scientists and experts from all over the world to join forces in advancing the continent's public health.

HUANG YUE Addis Ababa, Ethiopia "Standing here, you get a bird's eye view of the Ethiopian capital. The mountains glimmer in the gold of the sun, the roads fill with traffic, people move in every direction. The energy inspires confidence that with the new CDC headquarters, Africa will be better placed to fill in any gaps in public health. Huang Yue, CGTN, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia."

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