Coronavirus in Africa: West Africa region needs $50 million to fight this deadly outbreak

On Friday, February 14, 2020, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Ministers of Health held an Emergency Meeting in Bamako, Mali.
They gathered to figure out a way to prepare and respond to the deadly COVID-19 Virus which has spread into Africa.
Yesterday, the Director-General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) shared details of the meeting including how much is needed to fight the outbreak.

After an emergency meeting in Mali, the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has revealed how much the West African region needs to fight the deadly coronavirus.

Vanguard reports that Prof. Stanley Okolo, the Director-General of WAHO has revealed that this region needs $50 million to prepare for the Coronavirus, officially known as Covid-19.

Speaking with the press on Monday, February 17, 2020 in Abuja, he said that this money will be used to provide its ECOWAS countries with the capacity to diagnose or contain the virus.

The money will also be used to purchase reagents (substance or mixture used for chemical analysis or other reactions), among other things.

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For now, only six countries of 15 countries in the West African region can diagnose and contain the virus.

According to Okolo, the WAHO Director-General, these countries are Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d’ivoire, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. So far, most of them have dealt with at least one suspected case which tested negative.

This meeting comes after Africa's first confirmed case of the virus has been recorded in Egypt.

As of today, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has reached 1,875 people. There are currently 73,438 confirmed cases in 30 countries and territories.