The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has welcome calls by African and European leaders that “only a global that fully includes Africa can bring the coronavirus pandemic to an end.Both the African and Europeans leaders view on the global collective effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic was recently publish in the Financial Times.
“We thus fully share, endorse and support the ‘call for action’ from African and European leaders published in the Financial Times, their view that “only a global victory that fully includes Africa can bring this pandemic to an end”, and their call for strong collective leadership, able to tackle the multiple, interconnected and cumulative aspects of this crisis.” The Foundation said in a statement issued on Friday April 17.
“We must indeed address, together and at the same time, and the sooner the better, the need to strengthen Africa’s emergency health response capacity; the need to share scientific knowledge and expertise; the need to ensure the relevant humanitarian supply for the most affected communities – namely food security – lest people die from hunger before COVID-19; and the need to deploy a “massive economic stimulus package” – beginning with immediate debt relief,” the statement added..
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis, the first of its kind in modern history at this level, depth and width. The virus makes no distinction of race or country, and knows of no borders. According to the Mo Ibrahim Foundation it will only be solved with collective and coordinated efforts and that the fight against the pandemic is a matter of shared interest.
The Foundation acknowledged that Africa is facing a severe challenge. It explains that that in most countries, it will prove difficult at best to implement the measures adopted by more developed countries, such as social distancing, public health campaigns, and generous financial support offered to people and business.
Many economies, it continues, whether mostly driven by commodity exports or sustained by high debt levels, will be highly disrupted. For most of the continent and its people, the economic crisis will hit hard and long. This will destroy recent progress, and worsen already existing fragilities, with all its consequences.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation also welcome the recent appointment by the African Union of the four COVID-19 Special Envoys, Donald Kaberuka, Trevor Manuel, NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, and TidjaneThiam.It said opined that the appointees are close friends of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, with Donald Kaberuka one of MIF’s Board members, and NgoziOkonjo-Iweala a member of MIF’s inaugural Prize Committee. “They can rely on our full and committed support,” the foundation added.
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