Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, South Sudan, na Ethiopia wakutana kwenye video na kuibua mfuko wa pamoja dhidi ya Corona

[MK254]

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday, March 30, held a historic meeting as he stepped up his efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19.

The president was joined by 5 other African leaders namely: The Chairperson of IGAD who is also the Prime Minister of Sudan Abdalla Hamdok, President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), President Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), Vice President Dr. Riek Machar (South Sudan) and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia in the unique meeting which was held via a video-conference

The meeting was convened by the member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to find solutions for the Covid-19 pandemic.

While briefing his counterparts on the measures Kenya is taking to curtail the spread of the virus, President Uhuru provided the outcomes of a teleconference with the Bureau of the African Union Heads of State and Government held on March 26.

One of the key outcomes of the meeting was the agreement to establish a continental anti-Covid-19 Africa Fund to which members of the Bureau agreed to immediately contribute US Ksh1.25 billion as seed funding. The bureau also agreed to contribute a further Ksh450 million towards boosting the capacity of the African Union Centre for Disease Control (Africa CDC), with the total contribution totaling at Ksh1.7 billion.

Kenya pledged, on its part, pledged to contribute Ksh300 million to the aforementioned funds.

“My administration will do whatever is within its power and capacity to extend any support that our brothers and sisters in our neighboring countries might require,” President Uhuru stated.

The heads of state present during the meeting all agreed to forge a joint approach to curb the spread of Coronavirus disease.

The leaders also agreed to intensify information sharing including tracking of infected persons across any of their countries.

Further, the heads of state agreed to direct relevant agencies to enhance cooperation in border control and management, with a view of ensuring safety along common borders and guarantee the movement of cargo.