* Ten African nations started outbreak with no ventilators -
Africa CDC
* Goal to test 10 million Africans in coming months
* WHO "critical to our collective survival" - Nigeria
(Adds Nigeria comments on WHO, ventilators)
By Giulia Paravicini
ADDIS ABABA, April 23 (Reuters) - African nations that lack
ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients will receive some from
the Jack Ma Foundation, an African Union official said on
Thursday, as Nigeria stressed Africa's dependence on a
properly-funded World Health Organization (WHO)to help it fight
the pandemic.
Africa's 54 countries have so far reported fewer than 26,000
confirmed cases of the disease, just a fraction of the more than
two million cases reported globally. But the WHO has warned
that the continent could see as many as 10 million cases in
three to six months, according to its tentative model.
With the pandemic driving up demand for protective equipment
and medical supplies across the world, the African Union said it
was working to set up its own joint procurement system.
Meanwhile, the Jack Ma Foundation has donated 300
ventilators, which will arrive in coming weeks. John Nkengasong,
head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) said states without any ventilators would be prioritized
as they are distributed.
Ten unidentified African nations were facing the new
coronavirus without a single ventilator, he said last week.
Ma, the Chinese billionaire founder of Alibaba Group, has
donated thousands of tests kits, masks and protective gear to
all African nations.
Nkengasong described the testing situation across Africa as
"very disappointing."
"As of this week in a continent of 1.3 billion people, just
about 415 thousands tests have been conducted," he said, urging
governments to scale up testing. The goal is to test 10 million
people across the continent, he added.
WHO SUPPORT
Nigeria, the continent's most populous nation, said it began
the pandemic with roughly 350 ventilators for its 200 million
citizens. It has since received around 100 additional units.
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease
Control, warned of dire consequences should the WHO not receive
full funding.
President Donald Trump said last week that U.S. would halt
funding to the WHO over its handling of the pandemic,
potentially cutting off roughly 15% of its budget. "We rely on them for guidance, lives are saved because of
the work that they do... we don't have the luxury on the
continent to build up all the infrastructure on our own,"
Ihekweazu said of Africa's situation, calling the WHO "critical
to our collective survival."
"If the funding to WHO is affected in the way it may be,
then there will be a huge price for humanity to pay."
With much of the continent in lockdown, Africa's CDC is
working with governments on plans to safely ease the
restrictions.
Two West African countries, Burkina Faso and Ghana, lifted
some coronavirus-related restrictions this week, after the
shutdowns hobbled both their economies.