The African Union (AU) is calling for assistance for developing countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which should include debt relief and medical supplies, Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president and AU chairperson, said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2020) The African Union (AU) is calling for assistance for developing countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which should include debt relief and medical supplies, Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's president and AU chairperson, said on Monday.
"Africa is extremely vulnerable to the ravages of this virus and needs every possible support and assistance. The African Union has taken very deliberate steps to respond to the scourge. The African Union has made a call for developing countries to be assisted in their efforts to combat the pandemic and to rebuild their economies. This assistance needs to include debt relief. It also needs to include assistance with regards to diagnostic and therapeutic medical supplies," Ramaphosa said at a session of the World Health Assembly (WHA).
In his address to the WHA earlier this day, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed to the need to prioritize assistance to Africa. He said that China had already provided a "tremendous amount of medical supplies and assistance" to over 50 African countries, also sending five expert teams to the continent.
