ADDIS ABABA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commission has commended Chinese tech entrepreneur and philanthropist, Jack Ma, following his announcement of the third donation of medical supplies toward Africa's fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amira Elfadil, AU Commissioner of Social Affairs, commended Jack Ma after he announced the third batch of medical equipment donation in support of the 55-member pan African bloc and the Africa CDC in their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 across the African continent.
"Great thanks to Jack Ma for the donation to the African Union and the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), including 4.6 million masks, 500,000 swabs and test kits, 300 ventilators, 200,000 clothing sets, 200,000 face shields, 2,000 thermal guns, 100 body temperature scanners and 500,000 pairs of gloves," the AU Commissioner of Social Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This is a true solidarity with Africa," Elfadil affirmed, as she emphasized that the donation from Jack Ma, through the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation, would support the AU's recently launched Test and Trace initiative, which envisaged to roll out one million tests in four weeks and 10 million more in 24 weeks across the African continent.
Ahmed Ogwell, Deputy Director of Africa CDC, also commended the donation, saying that "this is a partnership that works. The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) values friends of Africa."
On Monday, Jack Ma disclosed that the third donation to Africa will be made to the AU and the Africa CDC so as to help with the continental efforts to fight against COVID-19.
The Africa CDC disclosed that the death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the African continent reached 1,158 as the number of confirmed cases hit 23,505 as of Tuesday. Enditem
