Brazzaville, 18 March 2016 - The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti will begin a 4 day official visit to China from 22 to 25 March 2016 at the invitation of the Chinese government. The visit is aimed at further exploring areas of mutual interest in health with a view to having a more structured collaboration between WHO and the Chinese government.

Dr Moeti is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings with high profile Chinese authorities including the Health Ministry, the China Food and Drugs Administration (CFDA), the China Chamber of Commerce and the National Institute for Parasitic Diseases (NIPD).

The Regional Director and her delegation will take part in a Global Health Strategy meeting scheduled for 23 March 2016. The goal of this meeting is to deliberate on Africa’s public health needs and how China’s investment will contribute to health system strengthening in Africa. The discussion will also touch on closer partnership between China and WHO to maximise China’s efforts to improve health in Africa.

The Regional Director is expected to provide strategic guidance on public health needs in Africa and how to address them, as well as the potential role that WHO could play including facilitating communication with national counterparts. Institutions that will participate in the meetings include the Ministry of Commerce People's Republic of China (MOFCOM), National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), Department for International Development (DFID), Centre for Global Health, Peking University, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC).

The provision of quality health commodities in Africa will be the focus of the Regional Director’s discussions with the China Food and Drugs Administration (CFDA). This will be followed by a working session with the China Chamber of Commerce, where both parties will deliberate on Africa’s health needs, production of pharmaceuticals and health commodities and the African Regulatory Authority environment.

On the last leg of the trip, Dr Moeti and her delegation will visit the National Institute for Parasitic Diseases (NIPD) in Shanghai. The NIPD has been active in Africa in a number of projects. Closer collaboration with WHO in areas such as malaria, schistosomiasis and other tropical diseases will be discussed.

Dr Moeti is accompanied by Dr Delanyo Dovlo, Cluster Director of the Health Systems and Services Cluster; Dr Emil Asamoah-Odei, Chief of the Regional Director’s Office; Dr Phanuel Habimana, Regional Adviser, Family and Reproductive Health; Dr Adiele Onyeze, Coordinator of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Mapping Project and Dr Hongyi Xu from the Health Systems and Services Cluster.

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For more information, please contact:

C. Boakye-Agyemang, Regional Communications Adviser, Email: Boakyeagyemangc [at] who.int 
Angela Pratt, Senior Adviser -Communications & External Relations- WHO China, Email: pratta [at] who.int