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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa (CDC Africa) today received a third donation of medical equipment and supplies from the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The donation is to support the COVID-19 response from African Union member states and includes 4.6 million masks, 500,000 swabs and test kits, 300 fans, 200,000 sets of protective clothing, 200,000 face shields, 2,000 spray guns temperature, 100 body temperature scanners and 500,000 pairs of gloves.
The Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight carrying part of the shipment departed from Guangzhou, China, and landed in Addis Ababa at approximately 3 pm Eastern Africa time.
“The world cannot afford the unthinkable consequences of a COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. The crisis is proving to be more difficult and more enduring than any of us had expected. We must do everything possible to prepare ourselves. As members of the global community, it would be irresponsible for us to sit on the fence, panic, ignore the facts, or fail to act. We have to take action now, ”said Mr. Jack Ma, Founder, the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Group.
The medical equipment and supplies needed to combat COVID-19 are manufactured largely outside Africa, and all countries, including countries with advanced technologies, need them. This has made it difficult for African countries to obtain their medical supplies through regular channels.
“Obtaining diagnosis and medical equipment for the COVID-19 response is a global challenge. Africa is in fierce competition with the developed world regarding the availability of basic products. These donations from the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation have been an incredible initiative that has helped meet the need for medical supplies by African countries, “said Dr. John Nkengasong, Director, Africa CDC.
The Jack Ma Foundation is now taking its support for public health in Africa to the next level as it collaborates with CDC Africa to hold a special webinar titled Global MediXChange for Combatting COVID-19 (GMCC): The Experience of China tomorrow , Tuesday April 28, 2020 at 3:00 pm Eastern African Time (8:00 pm China Standard Time). The webinar will include comments and presentations by Jack Ma; Dr. John Nkengasong; Dr. Chen Wang, President, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; Dr. Bin Cao, President, China-Japan Friendship Hospital; and Dr. Raji Tajudeen, Chief, CDC Africa Division of Public Health Institutes and Research.
This webinar will enable medical experts from Africa, China, and other parts of the world to share knowledge, experiences, and best practices for treating COVID-19. It is open to the public and interested people can join via GMCC X Africa CDC Livestream Link.
GMCC was launched last month by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation to facilitate open knowledge sharing and online communication to combat COVID-19. Backed by Alibaba Health and Alibaba Cloud technologies and tools, GMCC features three main components: digital access to epidemic prevention resources, videos and webinars, and tools for online discussions. Almost 3,000 medical professionals have already joined the platform globally and thousands of medical personnel from hospitals in Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe have participated in live exchange sessions organized by the GMCC to better understand how to respond to this. new pandemic of viral disease. .
This new collaboration is in line with the African Union Association to Accelerate Testing COVID-19 (PACT): Trace, Test & Track (CDC-T3), and supports the implementation of the Joint African Continental Strategy for COVID-19 . It paves the way for long-term, more structured and more strategic support for public health initiatives in Africa.
“Association is key to winning the war against COVID-19. In our strategy we have highlighted four things: cooperation, collaboration, coordination and communication. If we do not want Africa to be the next epicenter, we must foster multi-sectoral partnerships at the community level, at the national level, at the continental level and at the global level. This important collaboration is an important milestone in achieving this, ”said Dr. Nkengasong.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Africa (CDC for Africa).
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