The Dangote Foundation and the
United Bank for Africa (UBA) have donated $3 million and $1 million
respectively to a fund established by African business leaders in Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, to contain the dreaded Ebola virus in West Africa.
This
is in addition to previous interventions in Nigeria where the
Foundation owned by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, spent
about $5 million to evolve a two-pronged strategy that directly
supported the Nigerian government’s Ebola containment efforts, through
investments that strengthened Nigeria’s health system in a manner that
would endure beyond the current Ebola crisis.
The president,
Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, made the pledge on behalf of the
Foundation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during a meeting with some AU
business leaders.
According to a statement released by Dangote
Foundation yesterday, the AU Ebola Fund was set up in response to the
African Union chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s call for $30
million from Africa’s private sector to support the efforts of the AU in
containing the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Also announcing
UBA’s donation, chairman of the bank, Mr Tony O. Elumelu, said the
$1million was to assist the fight against Ebola currently present in
three West African countries where UBA does business: Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Guinea.
He said the donation would be distributed
through the UBA Foundation, UBA’s corporate social responsibility arm,
and shared equally among the three affected West African countries while
the remaining $100,000 is to be contributed to the African Union
Support Mission to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), initiated
by the African Union chair, Dr Zuma.
“Africa is our home and our
destiny, and Africans need to place themselves at the forefront of the
campaign to overcome this tragedy.
“This donation is an
affirmation of our unshakeable commitment to the continent, and a
message that Africa can triumph over this terrible affliction.
“Our
money will be directed immediately to strengthening capacity in the
fight against the further spread of the disease. Our hope is that this
donation will act as a catalyst for other African corporate bodies to
play their part,” Elumelu said.
In August, the Tony Elumelu
Foundation had donated $600,000 to the same cause, making unrestricted
grants to the Ebola response institutions designated by the presidents
of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
On his part, Aliko
Dangote commended fellow business leaders for their speedy response to
the African Union’s call. He encouraged more business leaders and the
general public to contribute, saying: “Ebola continues to devastate and
take away lives in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. There must be no
let-up in urgently matching solidarity and moral support with faster and
more strategic actions. None of us can sleep easily until Ebola is
contained.”
He closed his statement by applauding all those
working on the frontlines to contain Ebola – the health care workers,
those tracking and tracing contacts, those ensuring that Ebola victims
receive dignified burials, and others.
“I want to use this
opportunity to thank each and every one of you around the world for
playing heroic roles. I commiserate with the families of your colleagues
who have made the supreme sacrifice while fighting Ebola. I thank and
applaud all the African volunteers who will be part of the AU
initiative.’’
The fund established by the business leaders will be
hosted and administered by the African Development Bank (ADB). The
President of ADB, Dr. Donald Kaberuka, and executive secretary, UN
Economic Commission for Africa, Dr. Carlos Lopes, joined the AU and the
business leaders to establish the fund..
As at Friday November 7, 2014, some 13,241 people had contracted Ebola and 4,950 had lost their lives to the disease worldwide.
source:Leadership News
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