The European Union will support the Congolese government’s response plan against the coronavirus, with approximately 2.3 billion CFA francs.
According to a statement sent to APA Friday by its representation in Congo, “this EU financial support, which is a response to the call launched by the Congolese government for it, will focus on two components, namely the health emergency component and the mitigation component of the economic impact of the pandemic.”
For the first component, the EU will grant the Congolese government direct funding of around one billion CFA francs (€1.5 million) via the French Red Cross for the emergency needs of the pandemic linked to the strengthening of the epidemiological surveillance, infection prevention and control on the one hand; risk communication and community engagement, on the other hand.
As for the second component, the EU intends to provide funding of one billion CFA francs for the strengthening of agricultural product chains, in particular the cassava sector. Through this funding, the EU also announces its willingness to rely on the World Food Program to strengthen actions in the fields of security of supply in rural and urban areas, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups, stressing that other sources of funding along these lines are being considered.
In addition, the European Union announces that it has in reserve some 328 million CFA francs (€500,000) for technical support which could be mobilized, should the Congolese government make such a request.
LCM/te/fss/Dng/APA