United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says solidarity and global action are 'crucial'
Poorer countries need $2bn of international humanitarian aid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said in launching a major donation appeal on Wednesday.
"COVID-19 is threatening the whole of humanity - and the whole of humanity must fight back," Guterres said in announcing the initiative. "Global action and solidarity are crucial. Individual country responses are not going to be enough."
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Just last week, as the novel coronavirus spread to more and more countries, killing thousands and infecting many more, Guterres warned that unless the world came together to curb the spread, millions of people could die
In recent days, Guterres has called for much stronger global coordination on the response to the pandemic.
In a Monday letter to the G20 group of leading economic powers, he pushed for a "war-time" stimulus bill "in the trillions of dollars" to help poor countries.
According to the UN chief, the plan "aims to enable us to fight the virus in the world's poorest countries, and address the needs of the most vulnerable people, especially women and children, older people, and those with disabilities or chronic illness", said Guterres.
