Honourable Ministers of Health,
Director-General of WHO,
AU Commissioner for Social Affairs,
Ambassadors,
Directors,
Invited Guests,

Your presence here this morning bears testimony to the importance that our States attach to the epidemic known as COVID-19 which affects the People's Republic of China and 25 other countries around the world.

The main objective of this Emergency Ministerial meeting is to anticipate the protection of our Continent, by considering the actions aimed at strengthening the preparedness and response to this epidemic by the Member States. It is, therefore, with particular humility that I welcome you, here, in Addis Ababa for this meeting on COVID-19.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Invited Guests,

We all know that if drastic preventive and control measures are not taken urgently, the economic, social and even security consequences of the epidemic could be felt on a very large scale; and our dear Continent, Africa, is particularly at risk, given its relatively fragile health systems, concomitant epidemics affecting at present our Continent, lack of resources, population mobility and other vulnerabilities.
At this juncture, I would like, on behalf of the Commission of the African Union, to express my solidarity with Egypt and congratulate its government on having quickly detected and isolated the first case of Covid-19 on the Continent, thanks to its effective surveillance system.

This epidemic could in particular have a negative effect on global growth in 2020. If the main problem, of course, is to curb this epidemic to limit the number of victims, the event is also an indicator of the new economic situation of the planet and its interdependence.

This epidemic is first and foremost a human tragedy which terrorises the peoples of the cities affected by the virus as shown by the images disseminated by the media of the people confined to their homes, suddenly paralysing economic activities.

It is appropriate to commend, since the declaration of this epidemic, the considerable efforts made by the African States and African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC):
- Our actions started over four weeks ago when we started to motivate the Member States to assess their level of preparedness and response to the epidemic.
- We have trained and retrained experts across the Continent to ensure that their knowledge is updated and that they are ready to support the response to the epidemic on the Continent.
- We have established the Africa Task Force to coordinate preparedness and response across the Continent. This Task Force is led by representatives of the Member States in five priority areas: surveillance, infections prevention and control in healthcare establishments, clinical management of people with serious COVID-19 infection, crisis communication and community commitment, as well as laboratory diagnosis and subtyping.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Invited Guests,

In the face of this terrible ordeal that is afflicting China, I am delighted that our individual and collective support, has not been found wanting.

The 36th Ordinary session of the Executive Council of the African Union supported the efforts of the People's Republic of China with a Motion of support. In my opening statement to the Summit, I personally addressed my feelings of solidarity with the Chinese people.

Furthermore, at its 910th meeting, the AU Peace and Security Council underscored its commitment and readiness to work with the Chinese government to fight against the epidemic. The Council also thanked the Chinese Government for its support to Africa in the fight against the epidemics on the Continent.

The remarkable expertise acquired by China in the fight against this new evil will be useful to us, whenever necessary. It is an opportunity for me to reiterate the gratitude of the African Union to our partners in Europe, Asia and particularly the United States of America which strongly support us, every time the need arises, through Africa CDC.

Before concluding my remarks, I would like to assure you of the firm resolve of the African Union Commission to establish the necessary synergy to maximize the impacts of our actions to protect our Continent. Now is the time to implement the strategies determined through constructive and ambitious actions by the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
I declare open the Ministerial Meeting on COVID-19 and thank you for your kind attention.