Staff members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have donated $700,000 for member states to help them fight the spread of COVID-19.
The IGAD region comprises the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The region has about 6960 km of coastline with the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Toudjoura and the Red Sea.
Each member states will get $100, 000 from the total amount of financial contribution, the regional bloc said in a statement on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has confirmed eight new cases of coronavirus (COVID19) out of the 264 samples that were tested over the past 24 hours.
This brings the total COVID19 cases in Ethiopia to 52.
Seven of the confirmed cases are Ethiopian nationals.
The other is a 30-year-old Eritrean woman.
Among the confirmed cases include a nine-month-old baby and his mother, according to a statement issued by the Ministry on Tuesday.
Ethiopia has so far reported two deaths and four recoveries from the virus.
MG/as/APA