Under the national efforts Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed leads to contain COVID-19, he called upon Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians to feed the needy at least once a day and to come up with what he called “survival innovations.”
In a poster he shared yesterday on his tweeter account entitled: “Overcoming #COVID-19 Together, A National Challenge,” Abiy proposed the two challenges as: “Each one, Feed one” and “Survival Innovations.”
Under the “Each one, Feed one” challenge, Abiy called upon all Ethiopians and Non-Ethiopians residing in the country to “share their blessings with another family in need by sharing a meal a day.”
Under the second challenge, the premier called for intensifying efforts to explore and come up with home-grown innovative solutions.
“Current times call for home grown solutions to the imminent challenges we will be facing from COVID-19,” he said, advising the youth in particular to take the moment as an opportunity for innovating timely solutions.
“I challenge all innovators to assess current and future pressing needs and generate innovative solutions utilizing resources within our communities,” he said.
In a post released by his Office yesterday, Abiy said that updates he received from COVID-19 Ministerial Committee indicated that some achievements are being registered by city and regional administrations.
“I am pleased to hear that within Addis Ababa itself around 1,200 food banks have been setup for extreme eventualities. Setting up multiple testing labs in regions is also ongoing with the aim of increasing daily testing capacity,” he said.
Abiy also indicated that new quarantine, isolation and treatment facilities are being opened and efforts are underway to produce some vital medical equipment locally.
“The potential to locally produce ventilators is being explored as we add new sites to the quarantine, isolation and treatment facilities,” Abiy said.
Abiy admired “all generous individuals who have been lending a hand in all manners. Unity is a pre-requisite for collective survival!”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed passed gratitude to President Ismail Guelleh of Djibouti for recognizing a neighbor in need.
In his official Facebook page, the PM said “Profound gratitude to President Ismail Guelleh of Djibouti for recognizing a neighbor in need. With 82.5% reductions in port tariffs for exports at this critical time, the support is testimony to countering the effects of COVID-19 through collective leadership.”
The Prime Minister also appreciated Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s interest to support Ethiopia overcome COVID-19 challenges.
“Thank you for a good phone conversation and look forward to partnering in the supply of essential medical equipment,” he said.
The Prime Minister also admired some good progress made in the national efforts to fight against COVID-19 and hailed those render support generously.
The Ethiopian Herald April 16/2020
BY STAFF REPORTER
