Participants attend the 36th ordinary session of the executive council of the African Union Commission which in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, Feb. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
The African Union (AU) has excellent health cooperation with China and the two sides are coordinating on the novel coronavirus outbreak, officials said Sunday.
John Nkengasong, director of African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said the AU has excellent health cooperation with China in dealing with various health challenges on the continent.
"We believe our relationship with China is very trusting," Nkengasong said on the sidelines of the 33rd ordinary session of the assembly of AU heads of state and government held in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The African CDC, officially launched in January 2017, has been undertaking various activities to deal with disease outbreaks in AU member states.
The director said the African CDC is currently coordinating with China to address the novel coronavirus outbreak and warned against baseless fearmongering.
"So far, the World Health Organization (WHO) has made it clear there should be no restriction in flights to, in and out of China, and we adhere to the WHO advisory," he said.
"I think we can count on the media to spread facts and not fears. If we promote fear and misinformation it will be very difficult to control this epidemic," Nkengasong told journalists.
The AU Commissioner for Social Affairs Amira El Fadil also hailed the continental body's health cooperation with China.
Noting that China is one of Africa's main partners in building the African CDC, the commissioner said, "There are no confirmed novel coronavirus cases in the continent. But we're working on the prevention method, doing a lot of awareness to African public on how to avoid this virus."
"We're also working on diagnostics and working with member states on how to deal with suspected cases of novel coronavirus," El Fadil told journalists.
