Several French NGOs call for international solidarity for Africa
Planète Enfants & Développement is co-signatory of an article published in the newspaper The World by a collective of NGOs, to call for the President of the Republic à support international solidarity in Africa to the coronavirus epidemic.
Disastrous consequences for Africa
"...we ask you, conscious of our responsibility, to take an initiative, for and with Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reminded us that the Coronavirus crisis will be particularly dramatic on this continent where social nets do not exist and where the medical equipment required to respond to this crisis is lacking, where 85 % of the population south of the Sahara does not have access to clean water or soap and where it is necessary to go to work no matter what to feed the family. It's a matter of days. ..."In the era of globalization, our solidarity cannot be limited to our territory".
The Covid-19 epidemic is now affecting many African countries that were previously spared. In the face of this rapid spread, we are particularly concerned for the African continent, which lack of material and human resources to deal with the epidemic.
The sanitary situation is out of all proportion to that of France, which already lacks masks, hydroalcoholic gel or artificial respirators. We therefore fear a major crisis in Africa, for the populations, extremely vulnerable.
In addition to the lack of water points and promiscuity in large cities, poverty is an aggravating factor in the face of the epidemic: "For many people, the daily emergency is to continue working in order to eat. They think that it is more risky to lose one's job than to catch #Covid_19"As Arnaud Tougma, our Early Childhood Project Manager in Burkina Faso, reminds us
Finally, it is the education and the fate of the 1.3 billion children and youth out of school that are of great concern to us. The digital means available in France are far from being as widespread and accessible in Africa. The consequences of this educational break for several weeks could be disastrous for these thousands of children.
We therefore join the call of several French NGOs launched to the President of the Republic for :
- a safeguard fund for international solidarity organizations in financial crisis following the Covid-19
- respecting the commitments ofofficial development assistance for theeducation and the health
- the mobilization of public funds with "the French Development Agency (AFD), the European Union, the SME, the World Bank, and the major development banks, but also with private funds companies, foundations, for propose a collective and coherent response ".
> Find the full text of the article in free access on the website of the newspaper The World.
March 26, 2020
