New York – The United Nations (UN) more than tripled its appeal to help vulnerable countries combat the spread and destabilizing effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Organization asked on Thursday (7) for $6.7 billion to help 63 states mainly in Africa and Latin America.
While the United States and Europe are in the grip of the outbreak, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that the virus was not expected to peak in the world’s poorest countries until some point over the next three to six months.
“In the poorest countries, we can already see economies contracting as export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear. Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty,” he said. The new coronavirus, which causes the respiratory illness COVID-19, has infected some 3.7 million people globally and more than 263,000 have died. The virus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
