EU, Germany Jointly Support AU’s Response to Coronavirus

Addis Ababa, September 2/2020(ENA) The European Union and Germany have joined efforts to support the response of the Africa Union in combating coronavirus, according to a press release of the union.

The press statement stated that EU has continued to work with member states to tackle COVID-19 pandemic on all fronts, and today 500,000 additional testing kits have been provided for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Addis Ababa.

As part of a 10-million Euros immediate support package to the African Union (AU) by the German Government in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the test kits were delivered by European Union Humanitarian Air Bridge flight.

A total of about 1.4 million tests for the extraction and the detection of the virus will be made available to African Union countries, the release also revealed.

European Commission Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič said “through the EU Humanitarian Air Bridge, the European Commission will continue to work hand-in-hand with member states to support vulnerable countries amidst the coronavirus pandemic. It is in our common interest to tackle the pandemic worldwide.”

According to him, the union is committed to ensuring effective delivery of essential medical equipment to the countries that need it the most. This specific consignment will be able to reach a large number of countries as it will support the African Union continental response. 

Germany's Minister of Development Cooperation, Gerd Müller said on his part “we will either beat the coronavirus together worldwide or not at all. This is why we support the African Union through the German Epidemic Preparedness Team in cooperation with the EU.”

Director of Africa CDC, Dr. John Nkengasong commended the Government of Germany and the European Union for supporting African Union initiatives to fight COVID-19.

He stated that Africa CDC as a continental body is working with several partners and exploring all markets to unlock the supply chain system for diagnostics and medical supplies for African Union member states.

The director said “partnership is key to winning the battle against COVID-19 locally and globally because no country can manage the pandemic alone.”

The total Team Europe global response package stands at 36.5 billion Euros. This support focuses on addressing the immediate health crisis and the resulting humanitarian needs; on strengthening partner countries' health, nutrition, water and sanitation systems and their research, preparedness and response capacities; as well as on supporting them in alleviating the social and economic consequences of the crisis.

At least 6.8 billion Euros is supporting countries in Africa. Additionally, a considerable part of the overall Team Europe guarantees of 2.9 billion Euros will also benefit Africa, it was learned.