WEB DESK
The World Health Organization has called for 675 million US dollar in donations for a plan to fight the novel coronavirus, mainly through investment in countries considered particularly “at risk”.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom said at a news conference in Geneva today that they are launching a strategic preparedness and response plan and requesting 675 million dollar to fund the plan for the next three months. He said the WHO’s message to the international community is invest today or pay more late.
Mr Tedros said 60 million US dollar of the funds would be for WHO operations while the remainder would go to countries requiring assistance to guard against the deadly virus.
He said WHO was sending 500,000 masks and 40,000 respirators to 24 countries from its warehouses in Dubai and Accra.
Tedros also hailed a 100 million dollar donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced earlier on Wednesday for virus testing, treatment and vaccine research.
The plan focuses on:
Rapidly establishing international coordination and operational support;
Scaling up country readiness and response operations;
Accelerating priority research and innovation.
“The effectiveness of outbreak response depends on the preparedness measures put in place before outbreaks strike,” said Dr Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. “That is why we are seeking resources to safeguard the most vulnerable countries to protect people from the new coronavirus before it arrives on the doorstep.”
As noted in the SPRP, WHO assesses that the outbreak poses a very high risk in China, and high risk regionally and globally. The risk assessment was based on factors including the likelihood of further spread, the potential impact on human health, and the varying levels of effectiveness in national preparedness and response measures. Accelerated action, as called for in the plan, can address these risks and areas requiring support.
As of 10 a.m. Central European Time on 5 February, 25 countries have reported confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, including China, where 24,363 people had contracted the virus, or over 99% of all cases. In all other countries, 191 cases have contracted the virus.