The Rwandan government has pledged $1 million to ongoing efforts in Africa aimed at tackling the continent’s COVID- 19 outbreak, an official source confirmed in Kigali.
Thursday’s pledge was among other resolutions from the teleconference meeting of the extended African Union (AU) bureau chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week, a statement said.
During the meeting which brought together heads of state and government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Zimbabwe, AU Commission Chair and members of the African Business Leaders Coalition, President Kagame said the pledge will boost joint continental efforts against the disease.
The AU COVID-19 Fund and the African Centre for Disease Control (CDC) will receive $500, 000 each as cases of infection on the continent crossed the 25,000 mark and deaths exceeded 1, 200 on Wednesday.
President Kagame thanked the AU Chairman, President Ramaphosa, for following up on important continental initiatives to avert the virus and business leaders who were part of the meeting on the invitation of the chairperson.
“Before I continue with my short remarks, let me say that Rwanda announces a pledge to the African Union Covid Fund and to the Africa CDC, each getting $500, 000,”
“I note with satisfaction, Mr President, that our coordinated engagement with the G20, and among ourselves, and also with the international financial institutions, has been productive. We should continue to coordinate even more closely in the months ahead,” President Kagame said.
He said the goal is to ensure that Africa has the fiscal space needed to cushion its private sector from the COVID-19 crisis, and protect the human development gains of its citizens.
President Kagame said that despite the COVID-19 challenges, Africa must also not lose sight of the critical importance of the start of trading under the Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in July.
“This has always been a major priority for our Union, but the current disruptions to international trade make it even more important at this particular moment to increase trade and production in our continent,”
“I will not take much time, but let me conclude with a word of thanks to the Africa CDC and the African Union Commission for the excellent work they are doing on behalf of our continent. Member states are directly benefiting from this agency’s expertise,” President Kagame said.
Speaking in the same vein, the AUC Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the enthusiasm by the African private sector to be part of the Partnership to Accelerate #COVID19 Testing Initiative(PACT) was encouraging during the meeting as they discussed how they could harness their logistics, private laboratories, manufacturing capacity to support the continental strategy.
“African Union will facilitate a platform for the African private sector to share experiences of how they have been able to adapt in these trying times of the COVID19 pandemic,” he said.
CU/as/APA