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The African Union (AU) on Monday said that Africa's response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has received a major boost, after the donation of medical equipment by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation.
Massive medical supplies donated by China's Jack Ma Foundation to 54 African countries arrived on Sunday morning in Addis Ababa, capital of the East African nation of Ethiopia, through an Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight.
High-level officials from the Ethiopian government and other African countries and organizations, who have attended the ceremony at the Ethiopian Cargo Terminal in connection with the arrival of the donation, have commended China's support to Africa's ongoing fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic.
In a statement on Monday, the 55-member pan-African bloc quoted South African Ambassador to Ethiopia and AU, Edward Makaya, as saying, "We thank the Jack Ma and Alibaba Foundations for this generous contribution to the continent."
The foundations had announced their commitment to donating 100,000 medical masks, 20,000 test kits and 1,000 protective suits and face shields to each of the 54 nations on the African continent.
"We appeal to our ministries of health to ensure that these materials are distributed and used where they are mostly needed," said Ambassador Mohamed Idriss Farah of Djibouti, who is the Dean of African Diplomatic Corps, and Chair of the AU Peace and Security Council.
Speaking to Xinhua, Deputy Director of Africa CDC, Ahmed Ogwell Ouma, noted that China has already done a very big effort in controlling this outbreak.
Stating that the Chinese government has placed its experience on the table for African countries to be able to see and use in their fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, the Deputy Director said, "The experience that China has undergone is very important for us, because ours is just starting, while in China it is ending. That experience is very important."
