The African Union has said it would integrate the request of President Macky Sall of Senegal to cancel debts by African countries after the Coronavirus outbreak.
The Senegalese President had recommended a complete cancellation of African public debts.
After a closed-session video conference meeting with other African heads of state, President Sall announced that the organisation will be integrating his proposal for African debt relief into the AU declarative statement on Coronavirus.
His request is set to “be reflected in the AU’s statement on the impact of the disease.”
COVID-19 is expected to have a long-term negative economic impact
on the continent as many countries have placed restrictions on travel and commerce to help slow the spread of the disease.
Senegal has been one of the continent’s most proactive countries with its response to the pandemic, with President Sall committing to a series of decisive actions to help limit the spread the disease and support at-risk communities including declaring a
state of emergency and limiting movement for the entire country and suspending flights.
So far, Africa has 9,310 confirmed cases with 906 infected persons recovered and 444 deaths.
