Coronavirus: The United Nations seeks an additional $ 4.7 billion

The UN launched Thursday, May 7 in a statement a call for new funds up to $ 4.7 billion to " protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries ." On March 25, when launching a global humanitarian response plan, the United Nations first requested donations of up to $ 2 billion, half of which has been recovered so far from member countries of the United Nations.

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" The most devastating and destabilizing effects will be felt in the poorest countries of the world, " said the UN Deputy Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, in the press release. " If we do not act now, we must prepare for a significant increase in conflict, hunger and poverty. The specter of multiple famines is looming, ”he warned.

In total, the 6.7 billion should cover until December the expenses of the humanitarian response plan which had been detailed at the end of March and which aimed to help around twenty priority countries, including several in conflict: Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Central African Republic , South Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela, Ukraine ... This new call for donations follows the addition of nine vulnerable countries to this list, the UN said on Thursday. These are Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe.

The funds raised must make it possible to purchase, in particular, medical equipment to test and treat the sick, provide handwashing points, launch information campaigns and establish humanitarian air bridges with Africa, Asia or Latin America, according to the UN.

The Organization clarified that the new call for contributions was also aimed at developing new programs to better combat the food insecurity that is developing due to the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Faced with this crisis, " extraordinary measures are necessary, " insisted Mark Lowcock. " I urge donors to act both in solidarity and in the self-interest and to proportionate their response to the magnitude of the problem we face, " he added, warning against a boomerang effect in the long term if poor countries are abandoned by rich countries.

According to the UN, the peak of the disease in the poorest countries of the world is expected in the next three to six months.