Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has renewed its partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for another three years running.
Ecobank in a statement on Friday explained that the relationship between the two organisations began in 2011, adding that “the new agreement formalises Ecobank’s support for the Global Fund’s work in Africa”.
The bank said a selected high-level audience composed of business leaders and development experts were present at the signing ceremony on September 16 2016, in Montreal, Canada.
The event, ‘Changing Africa: Enabling growth through the private sector’, led by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ecobank Foundation, Ms. Julie Essiam, took place on the side-lines of the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment Conference.
The terms of the agreement will engage Ecobank Foundation to work with the Global Fund to build the partnership into an engagement and advocacy platform for organisations and individuals who share a vision of accelerating the transformation of Africa.
According to Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank Group Chief Executive Officer, USD3 million had been pledged at the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment Conference in Montreal. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosted the event attended by Heads of State, government officials and hundreds of private sector and development leaders from across the globe. The Fifth Replenishment raised USD 12.9 billion with a goal of saving 8 more million lives.
Ayeyemi said: “Our job as bankers is to build the technical infrastructure that brings tens of millions more Africans into a more formal financial system. Ecobank’s founding fathers established a Pan-African bank to support Africa’s transformation. We are pleased to renew our productive partnership with the Global Fund. I am confident that we are a step closer to enabling prosperity across Africa.”
Through its Foundation, Ecobank pledged to continue to take a prominent role with the Global Fund to Fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on the African continent.
Julie Essiam, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Foundation signed the agreement with Mark Dybul, Executive Director, Global Fund. She said, “The Ecobank Foundation is pleased to be part of a historic moment with the Global Fund and what we are trying to do in Africa, which is to create a “thriving Africa”, and a prosperous continent. It is important for the private sector to collaborate to ensure that we use our platforms to unlock funds which will deliver sustainable progress and prosperity to Africa.”
It would be recalled that the Global Fund mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion annually to support programmes run by local experts in more than 100 countries and supports attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations.
