Addis Ababa, March 22, 2020 (FBC) –Through the “PM Abiy-Jack Ma (Alibaba) initiative to Reverse COVID19 from Africa,” the first shipment of medical equipment has arrived in Addis Ababa for distribution to different African nations.
An Ethiopian cargo plane carrying the medical equipment from the southern Chinese city Guangzhou, arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa this morning.
The joint initiative launched by Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed, Jack Ma-founder of Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation, targets supporting African countries in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).
Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed thanked and appreciated the support provided by Jack Ma and Alibaba Group:
The medical equipment will be shipped to each African country for free on Ethiopian flights.
The Jack Ma, China’s richest man, last Monday announced that his foundation and Alibaba would supply medical equipment to all African countries to help in the fight against (COVID-19).
The pledge would see each of the 54 African nations get 20,000 testing kits, 100,000 masks, and 1,000 medical use protective suits and face shields.
In a phone talks last Sunday, the Prime Minister Abiy and Ma stressed the importance of ensuring coronavirus preparedness in Africa to mitigate its effect.
They agreed on ways of working together to halt the spread of COVID19 on the continent.
Prime Minister Abiy said “material support coupled with enhanced knowledge is key to COVID19 containment.”
Africa has now reported over 1,100 coronavirus infections, more than 1,000 of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
Coronavirus cases topped 300,000 worldwide, with more than 13,000 deaths.