WHAT: African Union (AU) Covid19 Response Fund to launch $300m fundraising to help tackle the effects of COVID-19 in Africa
WHEN: 24th October, 2020
TIME: 16h00 East African time (13.00 GMT).
WHO: The African Union in collaboration with Afrexim Bank
Register link: https://bit.ly/2IyYvc7

Key Speakers
Cyril Ramaphosa, current Chairperson of the AU and President of the Republic of South Africa
H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC)
Prof. Benedict O Oramah, Chairman of the Board of Trustees AU COVID-19 Response Fund
H.E. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General
Dr. John Nkengasong, Director, Africa CDC
Dr. Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary, UNECA
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, AU Special Envoy

The AU COVID-19 Response Fund is a vehicle for the implementation of the continental strategy to combat the pandemic. The Fundraiser webinar will inform and solicit support and contributions from the African private sector, public and other partners, in order to ensure that the continent can respond effectively to this unprecedented global crisis.

The webinar is part of a programme of activities that aims to raise awareness of the AU COVID-19 Response Fund ,to date, we have raised 44 million, we need your help to raise a further $300m USD to tackle the immediate effects of COVID-19 in Africa.

The main objectives of the fund are to mitigate the social, economic and humanitarian impact of COVID-19 in all African countries; boost the capacity of the Africa CDC to support response to public health emergencies across the continent; and support the procurement and distribution of essential COVID-19 medical supplies.

One of the keynote speakers at the Fundraiser will be Cyril Ramaphosa, current Chairperson of the AU and President of the Republic of South Africa. In a call to action he said that “now is the time to come together as one continent to tackle the biggest health crisis of our generation.”

The event will be broadcast in the African Union working languages (Arabic, English, French and Portuguese). There will be interventions from a number of leaders as well as international artists.

The two-hour programme will also feature African celebrities like Ben Pol, Stanley Enow, Gigi Lamayne, Ahmed Soultan, Betty G, Teni, Oualas, Adina Thembi, messages from business like Cairo International Bank(CIB), Mota Engil, Ecobank, Sanlam, Afrex bank and Trace TV and government leaders and, also, frontline health workers
For more information on the event and how to contribute, go to the AU COVID-19 Fund website.

For more media inquiries please contact:
African Union contact

Mrs Wynne Musabayana | Head of Communication | Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission | E-mail: musabayanaw@africa-union.org
Ms. Faith Adhiambo | Communications Officer-Agenda 2063 | African Union Commission | E-mail: OchiengJ@africa-union.org|
For event related inquiries, please contact:
Constance Haasz| Events Executive| IC Publication E-mail: c.haasz@icpublications.com
For AU COVID-19 Fund related inquiries, please contact:
Yusuf Daya| Senior Manager of Research and International Cooperation| Afrexim Bank | E-mail: ydaya@afreximbank.com