This week, EJS Center board member Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed as a Special Envoy of the African Union to mobilize international support for Africa’s efforts to address the economic challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with the three other Special Envoys – Dr. Donald Kaberuka, Mr. Tidjane Thiam, and Mr. Trevor Manuel – Dr. Okonjo-Iweala will work to expedite the process of securing economic support to enable countries to respond quickly to the crisis.

Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa said, “The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been global in both scale and reach, and this necessitates coordinated international action to capacitate all countries to respond effectively, but most particularly developing countries that continue to shoulder a historical burden of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.”

He continued:

“The African Union is immensely encouraged by the support that has been extended by the international community thus far. It is an affirmation that as nations of the world, we are all in this together. We must now focus on efforts to marshal every resource at our disposal to ensure that this pandemic is contained, and does not result in the collapse of already ailing economies and financial systems on the continent.”

Read the press release here.