Cooperation in the health sector with China has helped reduce disease burden in Africa while strengthening the continent's capacity to respond to new infections, said a senior African Union (AU) official.

Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, said in an interview with Xinhua Sunday on the sidelines of the AU Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa, that China has contributed immensely to modernization of health infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa.

"China has been a dependable partner in our endeavor to upgrade the health infrastructure to enable us respond to both the traditional and emerging pandemics," Kaloko said, noting that cooperation between two sides has produced stunning results as evidenced by a decrease in infectious diseases that previously tormented Africans.

Kaloko said that China's footprint in Africa`s health sector has expanded to cover areas like research on tropical diseases, training for medical personnel and equipping of rural health centers.

"We are currently setting up the Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) with support from China. Our medical professionals are visiting China for further studies," Kaloko told Xinhua.

Chinese President Xi Jinping in his address to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC)summit held last December in Johannesburg said Beijing will strengthen health cooperation with African states.

Kaloko said African countries are keen on partnering with China to help combat communicable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids, as well as a host of neglected tropical diseases like Kalaazar, trachoma and sleeping sickness.

China was among the first countries that responded swiftly when the Ebola pandemic swept through west African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

"China was not only prompt in its response to our request for assistance during the Ebola crisis, but also assisted in the post Ebola recovery efforts. The Chinese government dispatched a medical team that fought the pandemic on the ground," said the commissioner.

He noted the Chinese medical volunteers had set up diagnostic equipment in Sierra Leone before the Ebola crisis reached alarming levels.

"The Chinese medical team also conducted intensive training for our health workers involved in Ebola fight,"he added.

Kaloko clarified that there are adequate safeguards in place to mitigate the re-emergence of a major Ebola epidemic in any part of Africa.

"The emergence of new cases after the three west African countries were declared Ebola free should not cause panic since we have set adequate surveillance and response measures in place," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2016)