Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has joined the fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Africa by donating vital medical equipment to help control the spread of the disease across the continent.
In partnership with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Jack Ma and Alibaba Foundations have distributed 1.5 million laboratory diagnostic test kits and more than 100 tonnes of equipment to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and the Government of Ethiopia to boost efforts to prevent and control the virus in the region.
Africa currently has more than 2,300 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 63 reported deaths at the time of writing.
John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC, said: “This is a great honour and a great sign of solidarity that the world needs at this critical time.
“The test kits and other materials will support African countries in their fight against this outbreak.
“We are facing a humanitarian situation, an economic situation and a security situation in the continent and Africa CDC clearly applauds the initiative of the prime minister and the Jack Ma and Alibaba Foundations.”
The equipment will be distributed by Ethiopian Airlines across the 55 countries in the African Union, with each receiving 20,000 laboratory diagnostic test kits, 100,000 medical masks and 1000 protective suits and face shields to contribute to the response to Covid-19.
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