The construction of the Africa CDC Headquarters building, or other the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Headquarters building, has officially begun following a groundbreaking and unveiling ceremony. The ceremony took place in the presence of representatives from the African Union (AU) Commission, the Government of China, and the Government of Ethiopia.

Speaking during the ceremony, Her Excellency Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil, the Au’s Commissioner for Social Affairs thanked the Government of China for offering to construct the building and for their continuous support to the AU.

She also assured that the construction for the other Africa CDC five Regional Collaborating Centre’s in Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia, for the Northern Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, Western Africa, and Southern Africa regions, respectively will commence in the near future.

About the 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 90,000m2 with a total construction area of nearly 40,000m2.

Upon completion, the structure will comprise of fully furnished emergency operation center, a data center, a laboratory, a resource center, briefing rooms, a training center, a conference center, offices, and expatriate apartments all of which will be built, furnished, and equipped by the Government of China.

The Implementation Agreement for the Africa CDC HQs building project was signed in July this year by the AU Commission and the Ministry of Commerce of the People`s Republic of China, on behalf of the government that pledged to tirelessly work hand in hand with Africa to fully deliver the health care initiative which was adopted at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit.

The Chinese government led by president Xi Jinping also promised to speed up the construction of China-Africa Friendship Hospitals and the cooperation between paired-up Chinese and African hospitals saying, “Together, we will build a China-Africa community of health for all.”