Africa seeks financial aid from UN leaders to overcome struggles of COVID-19 pandemic

At the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, September 24, African Nations appeal to world leaders for financial assistance to overcome the struggle of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, Africa's 54 countries have estimated that the continent would need $100 billion every year for the next 3 years in order to survive the pandemic.

‘Blind pursuit of narrow interests’

While making the case for the massive aid, Africa nations pointed to the trillion of dollars that had been spent by developed countries in order to revive their own economies. As per reports, almost all African speakers emphasised multilateralism in their UNGA speech. 

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa criticised global apathy towards Africa and called this “the blind pursuit of narrow interests”.

In addition to seeking financial aid, African heads of state appealed for debt cancellation so that more resources could be freed up to fight the pandemic. Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa is reported to have experienced its first recession in a quarter-century that resulted in the stalling of years of success for some nations.

Ivory Coast President  Alassane Ouattara said the G-20 debt moratorium must be extended beyond this year and called upon “Africa’s partners to take bolder measures”.

African nations also demanded a permanent seat on the UN’s most powerful body, the Security Council. Some African leaders pointed out that at present, the Security Council was a reflection of past world order and did not take into account the African continent.

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Earlier on Wednesday, Nigeria had called for “uninhibited supply of safe and effective coronavirus vaccines for all” at the UN General Assembly. In his address, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said that the United Nations must do all it can to procure the COVID-19 vaccine for all nations otherwise the organisation “would have failed in its core mission of giving expression, direction and solution to the yearnings of the international community”.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 32.4 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 987,000.

(With AP inputs; Image Credits - AP)

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