COVID-19 pandemic must encourage African unity – Boakye Agyarko

A former Minister for Energy, Boakye Agyarko has called on African leaders to use the COVID-19 outbreak as an opportunity to unite the continent.

He made the call as Ghana joined the rest of Africa to mark the African Union day.

Boakye Agyarko in a Facebook post said the COVID-19 pandemic must compel the leadership of Africa to see as a necessity the unity of the continent.

“The current crisis besetting the World must seize the minds of all and compel the current leadership of Africa to see as a necessity the Unity of the Continent, moving in tandem and commanding the respect of the World,’ he said.

Boakye Agyarko further added, “We must seize upon the urgency of now and move African Unity from an “idea” we merely talk about to a practice we live.”

As of May 23, Africa had reported nearly 105, 000 cases of infection, nearly 4,000 deaths, and 42,000 recoveries.

AU establishes COVID-19 Fund

Meanwhile, the  African Union (AU) has created a COVID-19 Response Fund with the aim of raising US$1 million to boost the Union’s response towards the COVID-19 fight in Africa.

The Fund was established by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.

The Fund, dubbed “Give a Little” has a target of raising the US$1 million today, AU Day, May 25, 2020.

“On this Africa Day, 25 May, all Africans, people of African descent and friends of Africa are encouraged to give a little to the Fund. A target of US$1million has been set for the day. Contributions can be made in any currency and this will be automatically converted into United States dollars, which is the original currency of the Fund account.”

“Money raised under the Fund will be used to mitigate the social, economic, and humanitarian impact of COVID-19 in all African countries. This is important because the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse the socio-economic advancements made by Africa in the last 30 years as the pandemic proves to be more severe on the socio-economic well-being of populations in Africa.