DoD defies COVID-19 to provide support across Africa
The US DoD is providing ongoing military and medical assistance to its African partners despite the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Laboratory consumables have been shipped to Ethiopia and Ghana whilst test kit reagents have been supplied to Guinea. The DoD has also managed to provide additional personal protective equipment (PPE) to military medical facilities in Morocco and South Africa, despite the domestic impact of the coronavirus on the US healthcare system.
The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch has also developed specific surveillance projects in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to research the impact of herd immunity on the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Regular military activities have continued, including at least 39 US airstrikes against al-Shabaab in Somalia as of 28 April targeting training facilities, infrastructure and weapons caches.
Finally, USAFRICOM has confirmed that its plan to train Nigerian Air Force pilots and maintenance crews over the summer period will go ahead. The training (at Moody AFB in Georgia) will involve the A-29 Super Tucano aircraft which Nigeria recently purchased.
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