Coronavirus Fund: Egyptian mission to support African Sahel countries

Shaima Yahya

In light of the current crisis that the countries of the world are going through, and the challenges they face as a result of the spread of coronavirus, Egypt has extended a hand of assistance and support to various countries as it has served as a supporter that bears the responsibility of caring for African countries.

On March 26, 2020, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi participated in a mini-summit via modern communication technologies. The African Union bureau gathered the presidents of South Africa, Kenya, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

During the conference, the implications of the coronavirus, especially the economic situation in African countries, were discussed, ways of cooperation between international partners, and they also talked about the suffering of African peoples in light of the deteriorating health conditions of some countries.

Create a resource box

In the wake of this meeting, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed with African leaders to establish a fund to provide the necessary resources to support efforts to combat the coronavirus threat in Africa, and to resist the economic consequences that occur, and stressed financial support to the African Center for Disease Control.

This comes as part of an initiative launched by the G-20 countries to submit a proposal to reduce the debt burdens on African countries, by postponing, exempting or scheduling, in coordination with international, financial and regional institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the African Development Bank, in addition to some of the major industrial countries.

It was also agreed to form a joint working group that brings together African Union countries, to exchange experiences and information on ways to confront the virus, follow the developments of the event and address African public opinion with developments, undertake awareness-raising campaigns for African peoples on ways to control and prevent it, and focus on local production of chemicals, solutions and disinfectants.

Corona in Africa

On 28 March, Tidros Adhanom Gebresos, Director-General of the World Health Organization, said that coronavirus has spread to dozens of countries in Africa, with 2,650 cases and 49 deaths.

He highlighted in a tweet the organization’s readiness to provide support to all countries in combating the virus, stressing that countries whose healthcare systems suffer from weakness should work strongly to contain the spread of the disease between the initial cases and prevent its spread in society.