The news that Chinese billionaire and co-founder of the tech firm Alibaba, Jack Ma, will donate mass consignments of face masks, testing kits and protective suits to countries in Africa, is being received in Liberia with much excitement. Ma’s donation to the continent is intended to aid its fight against the novel coronavirus now ravaging much of Asia, Europe, and America.

The Ma Foundation said it will donate a total of 1.1 million testing kits, 6 million masks, and 60,000 protective suits and face shields. It will also work with local medical institutions in Africa to provide online training materials for coronavirus clinical treatments.

“The world cannot afford the unthinkable consequences of a COVID-19 pandemic in Africa,” Ma noted in a statement posted on Twitter. The items, Ma said, “will be delivered to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the country’s prime minister will oversee the distribution of the supplies to other African countries.”

On Friday, March 13, the billionaire announced his foundation would also donate 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and a million face masks to the United States where the disease is spreading rapidly, amid nationwide fears and disruptions to social and economic activities. As of March 19, the United States reports a total of 10,442 confirmed cases, and 150 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ma emphasized that he has also shared his plans to aid Europe, as well as Iran.

“Now it is as if we were all living in the same forest on fire. As members of the global community, it will be irresponsible of us to sit on the fence, panic, ignore facts, or fail to act. We need to take action now,” Ma said.

To date, Africa remains the region least affected by the deadly Coronavirus, which started in China on Dec. 31, 2019. According to the World Health Organization, a total of 28 African countries have recorded just a little over 461 coronavirus cases as of March 18, compared to tens of thousands of cases in other regions and countries of the world.

Although many countries on the continent have so far recorded relatively few coronavirus cases and deaths, governments on the continent are leaving no stones unturned, as they race to institute preventive and curative measures to stump the virus from their shores. But the availability of protective materials continues to be a major challenge for many of the governments.

Many countries are shutting their airports and land borders, permitting only nationals of their countries to enter.

Hundreds of international flights have been canceled, cities ordered shut down, schools closed, and travelers from Coronavirus-hit countries restricted or banned from visiting many other countries around the world. While these stringent measures are finding their way on the continent, only a handful of countries have instituted them, given the relatively low case lord of the virus on the continent.

However, in light of the major economic disruptions occurring in China, the USA, Europe, and Asia as a result of the pandemic, African economies are not expected to escape the negative impact despite the relatively limited prevalence on the continent.

Featured photo by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change