President Uhuru Kenyatta's rallying call to have African leaders come together to combat the Covid-19 pandemic has seen African countries pledge Ksh6.1 billion to the fight.
According to a report by PSCU on Thursday, April 30, African countries led by South Africa and Egypt have pledged $61 million (Ksh6.5 billion) for the fight against the virus on the continent.
Speaking during a virtual African Union Peace and Security meeting, President Kenyatta appreciated the support Africa has received from the international community but emphasised the need for the continent to stand together in the fight against Covid-19.
“I want to say that we need to be able to work together and to pool whatever little resources we have and show that we are also capable of coming together to defeat this virus.
“I also believe that at the end of the day it is going to take each and every one of us individually and collectively to win this war and not necessarily depending 100% on our friends from the outside world coming to support us,” he urged.
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He insisted that African leaders needed to understand that countries the world over were overwhelmed by the pandemic pointing out that even the richest nations were struggling to meet demands brought about by Covid-19.
“We are facing financial, material and structural constraints. However, we must also face up to the reality that resources are finite everywhere and even the richest countries today are struggling in the wake of this global pandemic.
"Therefore, I am very encouraged by what we are doing for ourselves on the continent,” President Kenyatta told other leaders.
He further informed that there was a need to encourage more African nations to contribute to the kitty so as to scale up continental interventions against the pandemic.
“As we continue to fight this pandemic which continues to pose an existential threat to many of our countries, I also believe that there are encouraging signs if we continue to stay the course, remain focused, vigilant and more importantly disciplined,” he stated.
President Kenyatta thanked the African Union Chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa for organising four summits in a span of one month with the objective of unifying the continent in the fight against the global novel Coronavirus pandemic.
African leaders who participated in the meeting included Presidents Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (Egypt), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Idriss Deby (Chad), and Andry Rajoelina (Madagascar).
Also present were Felix Tshisekedi (DRC), Ali Bongo Ondimba (Gabon), Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (Mali) and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat.
