In support of the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union and Denmark co-funded a UNICEF-organized flight to deliver 7.5 tons of vital health supplies for children in Mali, the European Commission and UNICEF announced on Saturday 4 April. The day before, the EU Foreign Ministers had stressed the special attention the EU intended to give to Africa (see EUROPE 12461/4).
“In such challenging times, the European Union is glad to be making the best use of resources available and helping UNICEF”, commented European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčic, recalling that the UN agency is one of the EU's partners for the implementation of European aid in Africa.
Thanking the EU and the Danish Government, UNICEF stressed on Twitter that “in a time of unprecedented logistics challenges, UNICEF and partners are working together #foreverychild”. On Friday 3 April, WHO and UNICEF announced an agreement to work together on a COVID-19 response, through the historic COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. On 25 March, the United Nations launched a 2 billion dollar humanitarian response plan over nine months to limit the impact of the coronavirus on the most vulnerable countries in South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia (see EUROPE 12454/16). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)