LUSAKA -- China has continuously provided support to Africa aimed at fighting COVID-19 at a time when the continent needed it the most, Zambian experts have said.

The experts noted that for Zambia, much of the support, which according to them was both timely and relevant, has come in the form of medical equipment that has been used to supplement government efforts aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

"When we started off, the capacity of the country was very low in terms of COVID-19 testing. But with contributions from China, the capacity obviously increased and we were able to carry out a lot of tests," said Onesmus Munyati, Dean of the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Zambia.

Munyati said that China also provided protective gear for frontline workers along with other medical supplies that Zambia is not able to manufacture.

"Going forward 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 to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

"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.