07 March 2020•Update: 07 March 2020
By Hamza Kyeyune
KAMPALA, Uganda
The 2020 United Nations G77 and China Summit scheduled for mid-April was postponed Friday because of fears about the coronavirus.
Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the U and current External Adviser on G77 matters, Adonia Ayebare, said “due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in different countries and in consultation with the G77 member states, the summit has been postponed to a later date.”
More than 6,000 delegates from 136 member states were expected in Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
The G77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries at the United Nations that provides the means for the countries in the south to articulate and promote collective economic interests.
Africa generally has fragile health systems and links between China, the epicenter of the virus known officially as COVID-19, and the continent, poses a considerable threat.
Africans are increasingly visiting China, the epicenter of COVID-19, for business and study opportunities, with eight flights daily between China and African nations before the outbreak.
The virus emerged in Wuhan, China, last December and has spread to more than 80 countries.
The death toll is nearing 3,500, with around 100,000 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Less than 10 African nations have reported cases.
The WHO, which had declared the outbreak an international health emergency, recently updated the global risk level to “very high.”
