African Union (AU) Chairperson, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa will today, 24 October 2020, participate in a virtual fund-raising webinar for the AU COVID-19 Response Fund.

The African Union COVID-19 Response Fund was established by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, His Excellency Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat on 26 March 2020, with the aim of strengthening the continental response to COVID-19 and mitigate its socio economic and humanitarian impact on African populations.

The strategy guiding the continental response, called the Joint Africa Continental Strategy on COVID-19, was endorsed by health ministers of African Union Member States and the Bureau of the African Union Heads of States and Government.

The webinar is part of a programme of activities that aims to raise awareness of the AU COVID-19 Response Fund.  To date, USD 44 Million was raised in support of the work of the fund, towards a further required USD 300 million to tackle the immediate effects of COVID-19 in Africa.

The Fundraiser webinar will inform and solicit support and contributions from the African private sector, public and other partners, in order to ensure that the continent can respond effectively to this unprecedented global crisis.

President Ramaphosa will deliver pre-recorded remarks during the opening session of the event scheduled at 13:00 GMT.

The webinar will also feature key speakers His Excellency Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC); Prof. Benedict O Oramah, Chairman of the Board of Trustees AU COVID-19 Response Fund; His Excellency Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General; Dr. John Nkengasong, Director, Africa CDC; Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, UNECA and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, AU Special Envoy.

To be part of the webinar, follow the registration process at this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-african-union-covid-19-respond-fund-tickets-122375623785?mc_cid=31c216875e&mc_eid=%5BUNIQID%5D

The proceedings will also be live streamed on all AU platforms.


Media enquiries: Tyrone Seale, Acting Spokesperson to the President – media@presidency.gov.za

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria