AU to Raise 300 mln USD Fund for COVID-19 Response

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Addis Ababa October 18/2020 (ENA) The African Union (AU) COVID-19 Response Fund has set to launch 300 million U.S. dollars fundraising to help curb the pandemic. 

In a press statement issued by the African Union Commission (AUC), the continental organ in collaboration with various institutions is set to raise 300 million USD, needed to ease the socio-economic an humanitarian impacts posed by Coronavirus in African countries.

Established in March, the AU COVID-19 Response Fund has an upcoming fundraiser webinar to be held on October 24, 2020 to solicit support and contributions from African private and public sectors in collaboration with Afrexim Bank and other partners.

The AU, which noted that the continental anti-COVID-19 initiative has raised 44 million, and stressed that the virtual fundraiser event is part of a program of activities that aimed to raise awareness of the AU COVID-19 Response Fund. The AU hopes that Africans can respond effectively to the unparalleled global threat.

"We need your help to raise a further 300 million U.S. dollars to tackle the immediate effects of COVID-19 in Africa," the AU called on its statement.

The AU envisaged boosting "the capacity of the Africa CDC to support response to public health emergencies across the continent," as well as support the procurement and distribution of essential COVID-19 medical supplies.

The high-level continental anti-COVID-19 fundraiser event is expected to be attended by Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, as well as the current chairperson of the AU.

The event, which will feature interventions from a number of African leaders as well as international artists, will be broadcast in the AU working languages that are Arabic, English, French and Portuguese.

The two-hour program will also feature African celebrities, government leaders as well as front-line health workers, it was noted.

As of Saturday, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent has reached 1,622,455, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, a specialized healthcare agency of African Union Commission, said in a statement that the number of deaths due to illnesses related to the pandemic reached 39,584 as of Saturday afternoon.

The Africa CDC said the number of people who have recovered from the infectious virus across the continent has reached 1,337,964 so far.

The most COVID-19 affected African countries in terms of the number of positive cases include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.

Ethiopian News Agency
2023