LUSAKA, Zambia－China has continuously provided support to Africa to fight COVID-19 at a time when the continent needed it the most, Zambian experts say.

For Zambia, much of the support was timely and relevant and came in the form of medical equipment used to supplement government efforts aimed at repelling the pandemic, they said.

COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 3,235,198 on Sunday, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Africa CDC, said.

"When we started off, the capacity of the country was very low in terms of COVID-19 testing," said Onesmus Munyati, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Zambia.

"But with contributions from China, the capacity obviously increased and we were able to carry out a lot of tests." China also provided protective gear for frontline workers along with other medical supplies that Zambia is not able to manufacture, Munyati said.

"We need collaborations in order to do state-of the-art research. We would want to strengthen our ability to provide local solutions to combating COVID-19," he said.

James Nyirenda, a biochemist, said China is providing support to Africa at a critical time.

"China has really helped. We are yet to see test kits or even vaccines from the West and other big countries," said Nyirenda, who is also a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Zambia.

Amid the recent rise in the number of new cases, the continent has announced that Africa CDC's African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team has secured a provisional 270 million vaccine doses for member states.

"From the onset of this pandemic, our focus as a continent has been on collaboration and collective effort," South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa was quoted as saying.

"We have held steadfastly to the principle that no country should be left behind."

"We have not only campaigned vigorously for changes through all the available international forums, but we have taken the additional step to independently secure vaccines using our own limited resources as member states."

At least 50 million doses will be available during the crucial period of April through June of this year, a statement issued by the president's office said.

Xinhua