Beijing’s efforts in food and medical relief, a sector traditionally dominated by US programmes, could partly fill the void, observers said
3-MIN READ3-MIN6 ListenJevans NyabiagePublished: 12:00pm, 19 Apr 2026During Vice-President Han Zheng’s visit to Nairobi in March, China signed a cash grant for drought relief and recently delivered food aid to Somalia, Togo, Zimbabwe and Zambia – helping 217,057 people in Zambia and providing Zimbabwe with 5,000 tonnes of rice.Du Xiaohui, director general of the foreign ministry’s African affairs department, later affirmed that Beijing would help nations in Africa boost food security and agricultural resilience through emergency aid and long-term support for self-reliant development.Beijing has also stepped up its health diplomacy across the continent, recently giving South Africa a US$3.49 million grant, facilitated by UNAids, to fund HIV prevention for 54,000 students and drug users.
The grant to South Africa, home to an estimated 8 million people living with HIV, marked China’s first major entry into a sector that had long been dominated by the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) initiative.
Before Washington sharply cut foreign help in early 2025, South Africa relied on the US for nearly 17 per cent of its HIV budget, or more than US$400 million annually, according to the South African National Aids Council.
