The EU will offer several packages of support at the summit to bolster health, education and stability in Africa, and will pledge half of a new 300-billion-euro (US$340.9 billion) investment drive launched to rival China's Belt and Road Initiative.

But the meeting also takes place just as France and its allies fighting Islamist militants in Mali said on Thursday they would begin their military withdrawal from the country.

European and other wealthy nations were heavily criticized for hoarding protective equipment and later vaccines during the pandemic, with some African leaders saying the slow pace of donations could lead to "vaccine apartheid".

By the start of February, only 11 percent of Africans were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus - far fewer than in richer parts of the world.

Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio challenged Europeans to remember there are "human beings on the other side" in Africa who have been left behind in the unequal global response to COVID-19, adding that this has security implications.

There was also dismay over Europe's travel bans on South Africa after the Omicron variant was detected there late last year.

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