On 1 April, GFAN Africa facilitated a regional day of action to extend sincere gratitude  to the United States, the Biden-Harris Administration, and the U.S. Congress led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for the $3.5 billion emergency funding commitment they secured for the efforts of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries.

These resources will support low and middle-income countries to rapidly expand their testing capacity and ensure health care workers are adequately protected with personal protective equipment (PPE). The investment will support countries to contain the virus and its variants, ensure those infected have access to care and treatment (including adequate oxygen supplies) and prepare for successful vaccine delivery. It will save many lives, reduce suffering and help economies to reopen safely.

GFAN Africa’s in country partners joined in sending this thank you letter to USAID missions in 20 African countries; USAID mission to the African Union; and USAID Africa Bureau. Our partners- Impact Santé Afrique- for outreach in Francophone Africa also translated the letter into French. The 20 countries activated in this ‘Thank You’ outreach are: South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Cameroon, Madagascar, Benin, DRC, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Rwanda and Uganda.