AFRICA’S GOVERNANCE RESPONSE TO COVID-19 | PRELIMINARY REPORT 2020 On 14 February 2020, a few days after the declaration by WHO of COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, WAHO convened an emergency meeting of the ministers of health of ECOWAS on preparedness and response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the first region in Africa to do so. WAHO has since developed operational guides for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in the ECOWAS region; and an online training for healthcare workers on the use of these guides was held between 6-12 April 2020. the spread of the pandemic and a post-pandemic economic recovery plan; and issuing longterm treasury bills and bonds to finance critical investment needs, to support the private sector and revive economies b. IGAD 11 Response to COVID-19 The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which covers the eastern northern states. It must be pointed out that COVID-19 impact is compounded by serious pre-existing challenges in the region, such as the worst desert locust invasion affecting Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, with devastating consequences for food security and livelihoods. The conflict in the South Sudan is another factor, as well as the fragile political transition unfolding in Sudan. To buttress these efforts, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Issoufou MAHAMADOU, president of the Republic of Niger, and current chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, held on 23 April 2020 a videoconference summit on the situation and impact of the coronavirus. The ECOWAS Summit appointed H.E. Muhammadu Buhari, president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Champion to coordinate the COVID-19 response and eradication process. In addition, the Heads of State and Government set up a Ministerial Coordination Committees on Health, Finance and Transport to coordinate regional efforts to fight the pandemic, under the supervision of the champion. In their response to COVID-19, the leaders of IGAD convened an extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the region on March 30, 2020, via Video Conference to deliberate on a regional strategy. This Summit resolved, among other things, to formulate an IGAD Regional Response Strategy to address pandemic diseases, particularly COVID-19; establish an IGAD Emergency Fund for the control of pandemic diseases, strengthen health systems in the region; and mobilise support from IGAD medical professionals in the diaspora. The ECOWAS Summit of Heads of State and Government took a number of decisions in terms of the fight against COVID-19 including inviting member states to make their contribution to the African Union Solidarity Fund and strengthen cooperation between the African CDC and the WAHO in order to make support to the ECOWAS member states more effective. 11 IGAD comprises of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. 12 The East African Community (EAC) is a regional eco- nomic community of 6 Partner States: Burundi, Kenya, In terms of stabilisation and economic recovery, key decisions include developing, jointly, a response plan taking into account the fight against Rwanda, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda. 54