WHO and China Explore Strengthened Collaboration Through the African Union Health Architecture

Addis Ababa, 23 September 2025 - Professor Francis Kasolo, WHO Representative a.i. to Ethiopia and the African Union (AU), paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Ambassador Jiang Feng, Head of Mission of the People's Republic of China to the AU. The meeting reaffirmed the longstanding partnership between WHO and China in advancing public health in Africa and explored opportunities for deeper cooperation through the AU's health architecture.

Ambassador Jiang commended WHO's pivotal role in strengthening health systems, promoting emergency preparedness, and advancing public health across the African continent. He reiterated China's commitment to stand with Africa, emphasizing the country's readiness to share lessons from its extensive primary health care system, expand collaboration in traditional medicine, and support local production of medicines and vaccines. He further underscored China's keen interest in elevating cooperation through a WHO-AU-China partnership to safeguard the health of all Africans.

Professor Kasolo expressed appreciation for China's consistent support to Africa's health sector, particularly its contributions to institutions such as the Africa CDC. He highlighted WHO's priorities of reinforcing primary health care, advancing local production, accelerating the operationalization of the African Medicines Agency (AMA), and fostering innovative health financing. He stressed that building sustainable health systems and ensuring that partner investments are aligned with national priorities remain central to WHO's collaboration with the AU.

Both sides agreed that structured collaboration through the AU health architecture is essential to foster coherence, avoid duplication, and maximize impact for Member States. The courtesy visit marked an important step in strengthening tripartite collaboration among WHO, the AU, and China - reinforcing a shared commitment to resilient health systems and better health for all Africans.