JOHANNESBURG, May 27 (Xinhua) -- African countries have to be innovative, collaborative, and comprehensive to tackle the scourge of COVID-19, said organs of the African Union (AU) in South Africa.

Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), said his organization has developed a COVID-19 comprehensive response plan of action which is proactive and multidimensional to help tackle the COVID-19 challenges and post-pandemic effects at regional and country levels.

The plan focused on health service delivery, human resources for health, research and development, innovation and local manufacturing, education, training, skills and employability, food and nutrition security and financing.

"This short-term response and support to member states are also geared towards slowing down the pandemic, knowing more about how COVID-19 is spreading and lessening the socio-economic impact of the pandemic," Mayaki told Xinhua.

"It is reported that Africa might lose 30 million jobs while a third of the continent's countries are at risk of debt distress. In order to prepare, we need to increase our fiscal space so that we can take adequate measures," he said.

"Africa's support structure for creating and sustaining microenterprises and small businesses during and post COVID-19 will require a strong innovation and technology component and less manual work processes," Mayaki said, "Investment in technologies for businesses offers more automation, new job sectors and developing a culture of innovation, which ultimately leads to more comparative yields."

AUDA-NEPAD is the development agency of the AU, coordinating and executing priority regional and continental development projects to promote regional integration towards the accelerated realization of Agenda 2063.

Bouras Djamel, the acting Pan-African Parliament President, also called on African countries to follow AU's recommendations.

He told Xinhua that African countries have to strengthen disease control centers, invest in research and development to tackle COVID-19 and other diseases.

Djamel said "the post COVID-19 era will be yet another difficult time for our continent but an opportunity to reinforce our cooperation in different areas. Our continent, as the whole world is mobilizing to face and win this unprecedented health war as a collective. We will certainly recover if we act and speak with one voice." Enditem

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