The Kingdom of Morocco under the instructions of Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, provides medical assistance for African Peers to combat COVID-19. This comes within the framework of the initiative, launched by the Sovereign after consultations with African peers and aimed at establishing an operational framework to accompany these countries in their various phases of managing the Coronavirus.
This aid; which will benefit 15 African countries, belonging to all the sub-regions of the continent, namely: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Eswatini, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Chad and Zambia.
Moroccan aid will provide these countries with protective medical equipment in order to assist them in their fight against the pandemic ‘’COVID-19’’.
In this regard, 8 million face masks, 900,000 visors, 600,000 hygiene caps, 60,000 coats, 30,000 litres of hydroalcoholic gel, as well as 75,000 packs of chloroquine and 15,000 packs of Azithromycin have been provided.
It is worth mentioning that all the protective products and equipment making up the medical aids sent to African countries have been produced in Morocco by National companies and comply with international standards, notably those of the World Health Organisation.
In this sense, the production of masks locally as well as the invention of ventilators among other things reflect the strong belief of Morocco in the reliance on the local industry and competencies, key drivers for continental growth in the upcoming years and decades.
The Royal approach hailed, some weeks ago, by the Pan African Parliament (PAP) calls for the adoption of a pragmatic and action-oriented initiative, enabling the sharing of experiences and best practices to address the health, economic and social impact of Coronavirus.
As the Moroccan King underlined in previous occasions, Africa has to be more than ever self-reliant and believing in its ability to overcome definitely the COVID-19 crisis as it has shown a lot of resilience so far and proven to be more than prepared to face this pandemic.
The Kingdom works closely with African peers to combat this worldwide pandemic since it is aware that COVID-19 implies a lot of risks, not only in terms of global health, but also with regard to peace and human security in Africa.
Indeed, any potential spread of the Coronavirus in the continent constitutes a social, economic and security threat, such as it is the case with HIV and Ebola in addition to other threats undermining the continental efforts to achieve the peace and ensure security in all corners of Africa.
Hence, the Moroccan approach is based on the taking of responsibility by Africa itself, through a renewed commitment that puts human development and youth at the heart of its priorities, to face the continent’s upcoming challenges. The continent is the youngest and its population is estimated to be at 2.3 billion by 2050 which implies more reasons to rely on its young competencies to reach more growth.
Once again, South-South Cooperation proves to be the most efficient method of joining efforts to overcome difficulties by African countries and to prepare the future, without relying on financial and technical assistance coming from elsewhere. Undeniably, King Mohammed VI’s leadership has made the emergence of Africa a perspective based on a global vision, an inclusive action, as well as a united, responsible, and ambitious approach.
