{"id":220497,"date":"2020-05-24T07:19:08","date_gmt":"2020-05-24T06:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/?p=220497"},"modified":"2020-05-24T07:21:39","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T06:21:39","slug":"united-nations-secretary-general-hails-africas-response-to-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/?p=220497","title":{"rendered":"United Nations Secretary-General Hails Africa\u2019s Response To Coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"
United Nations Secretary-General, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, has described Africa\u2019s response to the Coronavirus outbreak as remarkable.
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Guterres in a statement said most African countries have moved rapidly to deepen regional coordination, deploy health workers and enforce quarantines, lockdowns and border closures as measures to tackle the virus.<\/p>\n

The statement said, \u201cThe African continent\u2019s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has provided valuable lessons for the rest of the world in meeting this challenge. Most African countries have moved rapidly to deepen regional coordination, deploy health workers and enforce quarantines, lockdowns and border closures. Governments and health authorities are also drawing on the experience of HIV\/AIDS and Ebola to debunk rumours and overcome mistrust of officials, security forces and health workers.
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\u201cNonetheless, continued vigilance and preparedness are critical as the virus remains a threat to life, livelihoods and health across the continent. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany countries across the continent have enjoyed strong economic growth in recent years. Standards of living have risen; the digital revolution has taken hold; and the African Continental Free Trade Area is moving from vision to reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is now at risk, as COVID-19 aggravates long-standing inequalities and deepens hunger, malnutrition and vulnerability to disease. Millions could be pushed into extreme poverty. Tourism, remittances and demand for Africa\u2019s commodities are already declining, and the opening of the trade zone has been delayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United Nations, and I personally, stand in total solidarity with the people and governments of Africa, and with the African Union, in tackling COVID-19. UN agencies, country teams, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian workers are providing training, expertise and other support. United Nations solidarity flights have delivered millions of test kits, respirators and other supplies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe policy brief just issued by the United Nations calls for urgent international action to strengthen Africa\u2019s health systems, maintain food supplies, support education, protect jobs, keep households and businesses afloat, and cushion the continent against lost income and export earnings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The UN Chief said since the start of the pandemic, he has called for a global response package amounting to at least 10 per cent of the world\u2019s Gross Domestic Product. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor Africa, that means more than $200 billion as additional support from the international community. I also continue to advocate a comprehensive debt framework — starting with an across-the-board debt standstill for countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt will also be essential for African countries to sustain their efforts to silence the guns and address violent extremism \u2013 and I welcome African support for my call for a global ceasefire. Political processes and elections in the coming months offer potential milestones for stability and peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd African countries, like all countries, must have quick, equal and affordable access to any eventual vaccine and treatment for COVID-19. These must be considered global public goods.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen will be central to every aspect of the response. Stimulus packages must prioritize putting cash in the hands of women, increasing social protection and targeting them for grants and loans. Creating jobs, training and educational opportunities for Africa\u2019s young people must be another central goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany difficult decisions will need to be taken as the pandemic unfolds; it will be essential for governments and health authorities to build and retain the trust and participation of their citizens. The response to this pandemic must be based on respect for human rights, the rule of law and the dignity and equality of all. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are still early days for the pandemic in Africa, and disruption could escalate quickly and spread uncontrollably. Global solidarity with Africa is an imperative \u2013 now, and for recovering better.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

United Nations Secretary-General, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, has described Africa\u2019s response to the Coronavirus outbreak as remarkable. Guterres in a statement said most African countries have moved rapidly to deepen regional coordination, deploy health workers and enforce quarantines, lockdowns and border closures as measures to tackle the virus. The statement said, \u201cThe African continent\u2019s response to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":220506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14571,3],"tags":[94,14173,354,1795],"class_list":["post-220497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news","tag-africa","tag-coronavirus","tag-south-africa","tag-un"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=220497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/220506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=220497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=220497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arewa.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=220497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}