China is boosting its COVID-19 aid efforts in Africa by sending medical teams to various countries and also connecting local health providers across the continent with infectious disease experts back in China. The deployment of medical personnel to countries like Algeria and, soon, Nigeria, is part of a larger global initiative to send Chinese medical experts to Europe, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf among other regions.

In Africa, the use of medical personnel is an evolution of Beijing’s relief efforts on the continent. These initially focused exclusively on the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies — including government-to-government support and philanthropic gifts like the recent PPE donation by the Jack Ma Foundation.