Seven African countries will receive funds to battle COVID-19 outbreak

THE AFRICA BAZAAR MAGAZINE

March 2, 2020

As part of a global effort to help contain the rapidly wide spreading coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, the Trump administration said Monday it will donates $37 million to the global health emergency purse to lessen the financial burdens of countries affected by the outbreak.

The funds, which is part of the $100 million the administration pledged on Feb. 7 pledged to donate to assist with the coronavirus outbreak will be provided through U.S. Agency for International Development‘s Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious Diseases to the World Health Organization, other multilateral institutions, and programs led by USAID’s implementing partners, to be distributed to COVID-19 affected or at high risk 25 countries around the world. 

The coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China in December 2019. According to the latest data from WHO, 90,893 people are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak globally, with 3110 reported death. As the numbers of cases increases so also is the fear among people, resulting in hoarding of medical personal protective equipment such as goggles, gowns, face masks and gloves and shortage of these personal protective equipment. 

The funds, which will be distributed to 25 countries- which includes Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Bangladesh, Napal, Lao, and Thailand are seven African countries- Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The funds will help the African governments of the affected or at-risk developing countries prepare their laboratories for large-scale testing for COVID-19, implement a public-health emergency plan for points of entry, activate case-finding and event-based surveillance for influenza-like illnesses, train and equip rapid-response teams, investigate cases and trace the contacts of infected persons, and adapt training materials for health workers on COVID-19. 

Due to the nature of the infectious-disease threat globally, the administration is also urging public and private sectors donors to contribute to the effort to combat COVID-19 as well.