By Moses Uwagbale
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided $100 million financing to member states to buy Coronavirus (COVID-19) related medical resources through the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP).
The President of the bank, Prof. Benedict Oramah, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Oramah stated that the financing to African governments was to support them to address the pandemic.
He said “we are mindful of the challenges many African economies are facing as they work to contain the pandemic.
“With this 100 million dollars overdraft facility, we hope African states would be able to rapidly access diagnostic kits and medical supplies at competitive prices from African suppliers and global markets.”
According to the bank boss, the funding is available to African governments to acquire medical supplies through the AMSP in the form of pre-approved overdraft limits.
He added that “this facility quickens access to critical COVID-19 containment and therapeutic supplies by bridging short term funding gaps that African states may be experiencing.
“The AMSP was launched in June and developed by the African Union’s Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Afreximbank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
“The development was under the leadership of Mr Strive Masiyiwa of the African Union Special Envoy for COVID-19 procurements.
“The AMSP aggregates medical supplies and serves as unique interface for African governments and NGOs to easily coordinate sourcing.
“Afreximbank facilitates payments on the platform and arranges letters of credit and payment guarantees, allowing participating governments and organisations to minimise the upfront cost of obtaining critical supplies.”
