Akufo-Addo to join ECOWAS leaders in virtual meeting on COVID-19 today

Rose Tillerson April 23, 2020

Updated 2020/10/04 at 4:38 PM

2 Min Read

West African leaders including President Nana Akufo-Addo will later today [Thursday], hold an extraordinary session via video conferencing to discuss the Coronavirus situation as well as its impact on the ECOWAS sub-region.

Before this extraordinary summit, the Ministers in charge of finance and the governors of central banks from the region held a virtual extraordinary session on Tuesday to discuss ways of addressing the Economic effects of COVID-19.

Already, ECOWAS has made available financial support, in addition to assistance from international partners, for the purchase of medical supplies and equipment essential to the fight against the pandemic.

As of April 21, 2020, available data suggest that the 15 Member States have recorded 5,774 confirmed cases, 1,616 recoveries, 147 deaths, and 4,011 active cases.

The West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) has been leading and coordinating efforts by West African countries to deal with COVID-19.

On 14 February 2020, a few days after the declaration by WHO of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, WAHO convened an emergency meeting of the Ministers of Health of ECOWAS on preparedness and response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the first region in Africa to do so.

The meeting agreed on a unified regional approach to COVID-19, and media briefings were held on this in Bamako, Mali on 14 February 2020, and in Abuja, Nigeria on 17 February 2020.

WAHO has distributed over 30,000 diagnostic test kits to the 15 ECOWAS Member States has been distributing 50,000 specimen transportation kits as well as 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPEs), and some medications to Member States since the pandemic broke out.