Liberia is among Four (4) African Countries that benefited from a Euro 84.26 Million grant to combat the coronavirus disease pandemic that plagued the Continent since 2019.
The funding is provided by the European Commission in support of the Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic that developing Commission found hard to grapple with.
The Countries are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin and Central African Republic.
“Our comprehensive response to the Coronavirus is to offer urgent-support to our partner Countries in their efforts to respond to the Health and Socio-economic impacts of the crises”, EU Commissioner for International Partnership, Hon. Jutta Urpilainen said in Monrovia in 2020.
The highest recipient was Benin (Euro 46.56 Million) followed by Sierra Leone (Euro 15 Million), the Central African Republic (Euro 14 Million) and finally Liberia (Euro 8.7 Million).
The EU Envoy stressed the importance of a comprehensive planning of the recovery process in the long-term.
According to him, “this will help the EU and partner Countries to build what he called a greener, fairer and more sustainable world for the future generation”.
“I am convinced that Europe’s engagement towards our African partners will make it possible to achieve these two key objectives”, the EU Envoy said.
Commissioner Urpilainen observed that the new funding will benefit the fight against coronavirus in the four Countries.
“These Countries which are all long standing partners of the European Union will be able to provide their populations with increased Health and Social Protections” said the EU Envoy.
According to him Liberia’s emergency budget support worth Euro 8.7 Million was mobilized to support the response to COVID-19 Pandemic.
The EU, in addition to the Euro 8.7 Million support, Euro 6.25 Million disbursed in 2020 and Euro 2 Million covered Personnel training, Awareness raising and provision of personnel protective equipment (PPE).
Commissioner Urpilainen disclosed that EU response to Liberia’s “Socio-Economic recovery efforts is worth upward of Euro 14.95 Million in the form of budget support.
Continuing, Envoy Urpilainen said “this emergency recovery which will be transferred to the State Treasury account will give Liberia greater fiscal leeway to address the Coronavirus pandemic”.
