China has made direct and indirect contribution to Africa's fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria on the continent, an African Union official said.

Benjamin Djoudalbaye, AU Acting Head of HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, noted that China's contribution to the Global Fund, which is to fight against the major deadly diseases, is one of the indirect support areas in the fight against HIV/AIDS on the African continent.

Djoudalbaye spoke ahead of the World AIDS Day on December 1, a day set aside to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic and mourn those who have died of the disease.

"For us, as the African Union, we have a very good collaboration with China. And recently two of my members went to China and were trained on HIV control. So, these type of action programs do exist between China and the African Union Commission," he said in an interview with Xinhua.

He however noted that the continent was n the right track to defeating the disease which killed around 770,000 people globally in 2018 according to the UNAIDS.

"For the last couple of years, I think we are on the (trajectory) in controlling HIV today on the continent," the official said, adding people have access to treatments and efforts were made to reduce maternal mortality and mother to child transmission of HIV.

"The new infections are going down in parts of the continent but despite all these efforts the disparities exist," he added.

Djoudalbaye said funding and resistance to the drug are among the two major challenges Africa is facing in the fight.