A promise to Africa

This simple fact underscores the urgent need for the World Health Promises Conference to be held on May 4. Only by acting now to support developing countries’ ability to fight the disease can the world avoid a second wave of the virus this fall.

African Union leaders appreciate the offers that are now coming in from test kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE) from the developed world. But if we are to change course against Covid-19, the world’s richest countries must listen to and respond to the developing world’s pleas for a comprehensive strategy to overcome the dual economic and public health crisis we face.

Until now, there has been a major disconnect between the rhetoric of leaders in rich countries (that this is an existential global crisis, unique in a century) and support for the world’s poor and developing countries of what they seem ready to do. . contemplate. In fact, until last week, African countries spent more on debt payments than on health care.

In 34 of the 45 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, annual per capita spending on health is less than $ 200, and barely reaches $ 50 in many of these countries. These low levels of spending make it impossible to finance acute care hospital beds, ventilators, and the medications necessary to cope with diseases like Covid-19. Paying for doctors, nurses, X-ray technicians, and other health professionals, along with their teams, can seem like almost a luxury.

In often overcrowded cities, social distancing is almost impossible, and there are not enough resources to provide adequate sanitation

Worse still, many of the measures available to wealthier economies while working to mitigate the disease – lock-ins, orders to stay home, and even wash their hands frequently – cannot be easily implemented in much of the developing world.

In often overcrowded cities, social distancing is almost impossible, and there are not enough resources to provide adequate sanitation and, in many cases, the running water that people need.

So what should be done? For starters, African governments need an immediate flow of funds to allow investment in health and social safety nets. Here, the most effective starting point is debt relief.

So far, bilateral debt relief is available to all 173 members of the International Development Association (the World Bank’s concessional lending arm for the poorest developing countries) only through December. To meet our immediate needs and plan ahead, we need a debt relief deal not just for this year but also for next.

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Beyond debt relief, the maximum grant and loan limits of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other multilateral development banks will have to be increased substantially. And an international money issue, the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights, to raise $ 1.5 trillion must be done soon.

In Africa we are asking for this support not only for ourselves, although our needs in this crisis are perhaps greater than they have ever been. In Africa we seek the help of developed countries (including China) so that we can do everything possible to protect the entire world from the return of this scourge.

But time is short. Africa may be among the last places on Earth to be hit by Covid-19, but the disease remains as potent and deadly as ever. If we want to eliminate the threat, each country must do what it can to accelerate the search for a vaccine and ensure that it is available everywhere.

Countries that have few cases of coronavirus and are beyond the peak of the pandemic should be willing to help the poorest countries by sending teams to save lives

To that end, the Coalition for Outbreak Preparedness Innovations needs sufficient funds, $ 3 billion immediately, with more in 2021 and beyond, not only to develop and produce a vaccine for those who can afford it, but also to be able to distribute it. equally throughout the world. And Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance needs the funds to ensure this happens.

Similarly, a coordinated global effort could greatly accelerate the production of required PPE, test kits, and ventilators in every country and on every continent, and ensure that these life and death supplies are fairly distributed, not treasured by the rich and few. Countries that have few cases of coronavirus and are beyond the peak of the pandemic should be willing to help the poorest countries by sending them teams to save their lives. And looking ahead, we should be building stocks of these emergency supplies so that we can help each other out the next time we need help the most.

All of these topics are on the agenda of the Global Health Pledging event on May 4. We ask all countries that are in a position to do so to participate, to listen and advise, and, most importantly, to give.

Abiy Ahmed is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.

Follow him on Twitter:@AbiyAhmedAli