Coronavirus: AU moves to raise US$420 million to increase rapid pandemic fight in Africa

01 Mai 2020

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 1 (Infosplusgabon) - The African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said on Thursday that the continental organization is using economic, humanitarian and health dimensions to get through the global coronavirus pandemic.

To rapidly implement the plan to fight the disease, the AU Chairperson, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, appointed four special envoys to lead the networking efforts.

The Special Envoys are expected to seek partnerships with the international community to provide substantial support to Africa in the face of the potential economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) estimates that implementation of the Africa Continental Strategy on COVID-19 will require US$420 million over the next six months.

“The economic dimension aims to realise debt relief for the continent and the provision of sufficient liquidity to get Africa through the crisis," the Commission Chief said during an inaugural meeting of the AU COVID-19 Board of Trustees.

Africa CDC Director, Dr John Nkengasong, said the funds donated will support the Africa CDC’s pool procurement of diagnostics and other medical commodities.

The commodities will be distributed across the continent to enable countries to rapidly expand testing of at least one million Africans in 10 weeks.

The funds will support the deployment of one million community healthcare workers to support contact tracing.

They will also support the standardization and deployment of common technology platforms to boost public trust in testing data, epidemiological models and critical health forecasting techniques as part of the economic recovery and re-opening agenda.

“We need to enhance testing, improve logistics and scale up manufacturing,” Dr Nkengasong said.

The AU COVID-19 Response Fund Board of Trustees is made up of member states, the private sector and AU representatives.

The Response Fund Board held their first meeting, online, on 27 April to discuss the various response mechanisms to the virus.

The AU humanitarian dimension refers to the situation where Africa is strengthening its partnerships with the United Nations and other international humanitarian agencies, to provide logistical support to states in caring for refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.

The AU plans renewed investments in health focused on strengthening preventive measures and health infrastructure, including provision of equipment, trained health personnel, and surveillance systems that inform government decisions.

AU Social Affairs Commissioner, Amira Elfadil, updated the board members on the status of the response fund and the plans to mobilise from both member states and partners to enable the AU to safeguard Africa’s health through the Africa CDC.

She informed the board that US$61.5 million has so far been raised. The AU Commissioner urged the board members to work towards closing the funding gap of US$359 million to reach the target.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/MPO/GABON2020

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