The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Board
Chairman, Tony O Elumelu, has announced the donation of $1million, to assist
the fight against Ebola, currently present in three West African countries,
where UBA does business: Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
The gift will be distributed through the UBA
Foundation, UBA’s corporate social responsibility arm and shared equally among
the three affected West African countries. The remaining $100,000 is to be
contributed to the African Union Support Mission to the Ebola Outbreak in West
Africa (ASEOWA), initiated by the African Union Chair, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
“Africa is our home and our destiny - and
Africans need to place themselves at the forefront of the campaign to overcome
this tragedy. This donation is an affirmation of our unshakeable
commitment to the continent - and a message that Africa can triumph over this
terrible affliction.
I would also take this opportunity to commend
our courageous UBA Africa staff, in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone who have
kept every branch and ATM open throughout this testing time. They have
demonstrated our corporate value of resilience and commitment that the business
and progress of Africa must and should go on” said Mr. Elumelu.
"Our money will be directed immediately
to strengthening capacity in the fight against the further spread of the
disease" he further stated. "Our hope is that this donation will act
as a catalyst for other African corporates to play their part.”
In August, The Tony Elumelu Foundation donated
$600,000 to the same cause, making unrestricted grants to the Ebola response
institutions, designated by the Presidents of Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea,
and Liberia.
Acknowledging the donation by the Tony
Elumelu Foundation, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said, “While we
have mobilized our national resources as best we can, they are still inadequate
to respond to an epidemic of this scale; we appreciate friends of Liberia, like
you, who have come to our assistance in our national moment of need.”
This important precedent of African
funded support, comes as West African and global development leaders have
recently appealed for an increased effort to contain the epidemic. The United
Nations estimates that at least 5,000 international medical, training and
support personnel are needed in the three countries over the coming months. “I
want to commend the Chairperson of the African Union, Dr. Dlamini Zuma and
Strive Masiyiwa, for presiding over a very successful AU meeting with the
private sector to mobilize financial contributions and business solutions, to
facilitate a robust African response to Ebola. I am also very proud of my
colleagues in the African private sector for demonstrating that we can rise to
the occasion and help fund and support the AU deployment of the healthcare
workers to care for our fellow Africans, and I urge more African business to
step up to the plate with more pledges,” added Tony Elumelu.
With operations in 19 African countries,
including the three countries currently battling Ebola, UBA provides financial
services to Africans and Africa-related businesses globally and across
Africa. UBA branches have remained open to attend to customers banking
needs, with not a single UBA business office or ATM closing in Sierra Leone,
Guinea or Liberia
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