With the contribution, Africa CDC will provide in-country training on surveillance to healthcare workers and rapid responders in 30 African Union member states, prioritising those with significant community transmission, the organisation said in a statement dated Sunday.

In the next four months, Africa CDC will support at least 90 in-country cascade and 40 virtual training workshops, and the deployment of 3,000 community healthcare workers in these 30 countries to enhance their capacity for early detection, effective monitoring and contact tracing so they can contain the spread of the virus. 

It will support the deployment of 180 rapid responders with expertise in surveillance, laboratory and case management to 25 other AU members to address the immediate needs arising from the pandemic.

Africa is currently sitting on 385,219 confirmed cases of the coronavirus first reported in China last December, official data showed on Monday. Of these, 9,698 people have died, while 185,243 have recovered.

These numbers are by far the lowest around the globe by continent, but Africa's fragile health systems and overall weak economy mean that the pandemic is already taking a heavy toll.

“This pandemic is a global challenge and it requires everybody working together with a unique level of cooperation," Africa CDC director Dr John Nkengasong said.

"We need to quickly scale up testing and contact tracing, we must deploy more healthcare workers and keep feeding the supply chain component. All these require strong partnerships. We deeply appreciate this timely contribution by the European Union."

Head of the EU delegation to the AU Ambassador Ranieri Sabatucci said Europe's experience had shown that a continental approach was essential to fight Covid-19.

"The Africa CDC is in a privileged position to coordinate a continental response for Africa, thanks to its solid experience in dealing with epidemics," he said.

The 10 million Euro grant will be followed in coming weeks by at least 15 million Euros more and/or material support to reinforce Africa’s response to the pandemic.

Africa CDC is a specialised technical institution of the African Union which supports all member states in their efforts to effectively respond to disease threats.

African News Agency (ANA)