Ghana WW2 veteran sets out on Covid-19 fundraiser

A 95-year-old Second World War veteran from Ghana has set himself the challenge of walking two miles a day for a week to raise money for coronavirus charities.

Private Joseph Hammond hopes to raise $600,000 (£500,000) for frontline workers and vulnerable veterans across Africa.

Private Hammond fought with the British army in Burma, in the Gold Coast Regiment of the Royal West African Frontier Force.

Now, he says, he has joined the fight in a different type of war to help health workers defeat Covid-19 on the continent.

The money he raises will be used to purchase PPE for covid-19 frontline workers and vulnerable veterans in Commonwealth countries.

There have been complaints that veterans have not been supported.

Earlier this month, the Guardian newspaper reported that a veteran in Zambia, Jaston Khosa, died in poverty. He was one of the 600,000 Africans who fought for the British in the war, the Guardian said.

Private Hammond says he draws his inspiration from British Second World War veteran Captain Tom Moore, who embarked on a similar initiative.

The walk is being organised by a charity called the Guba Foundation.