DRC: start of fundraising campaign for the fight against Covid-19

Text by: RFI Follow

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the authorities designated by President Félix Tshisekedi to pilot the National Solidarity Fund against the disease Covid – 19 launched yesterday, Monday, May 18, in Kinshasa, the fundraising campaign. To open the "ball" to donations, the National Social Security Fund has released $ 1 million, other institutions in the country may contribute, but the appeal for funds was launched without an estimate of real needs by the authorities.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa

The structure is ephemeral. It is called to disappear as soon as the state of health emergency ends. Its mission is daunting: to raise millions of dollars to not only finance the coronavirus response team, but also actions aimed at softening the impact of preventive measures on populations.

Bank account

A bank account has been opened for contributors as well as telephone lines for in-kind donations. But this fund set up first wants to recover all donations dating before its establishment. Reverend Dominique Mukanya, coordinator: "  The Fund requests all institutions that have received donations to contact him as soon as possible to allow for centralization and justification. The Fund remains the only structure authorized to receive all donations for solidarity as part of the struggle.  "

Where is the budget?

But, without a quantified budget, the citizen movement Lucha criticizes what it considers a first misstep. For Eunice Etaka, an activist, “  one cannot contribute for an abstract need. They must tell us how much they will need and for what type of action.  "

On the Fund side, it is assured that a study is underway to assess emergencies and quantify real needs. For its part, the committee in charge of the response has already drawn up a budget of $ 135 million for its strategic plan to combat the coronavirus. The DRC recorded a burst of peaks of new cases in recent days: 91 cases were listed yesterday, the cumulative is 1,629 cases including 61 deaths.

Read also: The DRC, giant of central Africa, facing the challenge of the coronavirus

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