Fellow Africans and global citizens,
Less than 10 days ago, we gathered in Addis Ababa with captains of industry in Africa, who rallied to the call of the African Union to discuss coordinated approaches to the Ebola crisis. We are grateful for their insights to this common African and global challenge.
We shared information on what the African Union and the private sector companies are doing in our efforts to ensure an Africa and world free of Ebola. We all agreed that there was an urgent need to mobilise Africans and coordinate all our efforts towards containing and ridding Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea of Ebola. We are aware that any continental and global fight against Ebola must start in the three most affected countries.
Ten days on, I am pleased to say the African Business Roundtable is well on its way in implementing the coordinated actions adopted at the meeting.
To date we have received pledges for financial contributions to the AU-Private Sector Ebola Fund to the amount of $32,600,000 USD from:
- MTN Group (10 million USD)
- African Development Bank (10 million USD)
- The Dangote Group and Trust (3 million USD)
- Econet Wireless (2.5 million USD)
- Motsepe Family Trust (1 million USD)
- Stenbeck Family (1 million USD)
- Afrexim Bank (1 million USD)
- Coca Cola Eurasia and Africa (1 million USD)
- Vitol Group of Companies and Vivo Energy (1 million USD)
- Quality Group of Tanzania (500,000 USD)
- Old Mutual Group (500,000 USD)
- Nedbank Group (500,000)
- Barclays Africa Group Limited (500,000 USD)
- United Bank for Africa UBA (100,000 USD)
Other companies that were present at the Roundtable pledged their competencies, such as Deloitte (audit services to the Fund), Standard Chartered Bank (logistics), General Electric (support to the African Centre for Disease Control, Quality Group (human resources and health outreach), Coca Cola and Vivo Energy (logistics). At the time of going to press, Sygenta confirmed their pledge of 350,000 USD.
The telecommunications companies who attended the Roundtable (Africa Airtel, Econet Wireless, Millicom, MTN, Safaricom and Vodacom) are working with other companies on a multi-media campaign to raise resources and solidarity from African citizens, the African Diaspora and others towards the fight against Ebola. The campaign will be launched on 1 December 2014 in Addis Ababa and across the continent.
We are encouraged by coordinated national private sector responses, such as those by the Ethiopian Private Public Consultative Forum, and wish to encourage other national business chambers and associations to follow suit.
We are finalizing the AU-Private Sector Ebola Fund and have shortlisted a Board for the fund, with strong private and civil sector participation, who will assist in managing the facility which will be hosted by the African Development Bank.
Companies such as Vodacom, Safaricom, Ivanhoe Mines, Standard Chartered Bank, Africa Airtel Group, Standard Bank and who attended and actively participated in the Roundtable undertook to further consult with their governance structures regarding further pledges. I urge those companies to do so by 1 December, as we intend to deploy all the health workers by Christmas.
The AU plans to upscale the deployment of health workers, so that by Christmas we have at least 1000 workers in the affected countries. Let me also take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Regional Economic Communities and countries which have already responded to our call to volunteer health workers.
We are conscious of the urgent need for all of us to do more, and to act faster. Only by acting together can we ensure that our continent and world is free of Ebola. We therefore repeat our call to all Africans to lead the global efforts of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Asante Sane!! Karibu Afrika,
Muito Obrigado,
Shukran,
Muchas gracias,
Merci beaucoup
Message from Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, African Union Commission Chairperson
