Coronavirus: European Commission earmarks US$124 million to WHO response plan, biggest pledge so far
- ‘With more than 2,600 lives lost already, there is no option but to prepare at all levels,’ says Europe’s commissioner for crisis management
- World Health Organisation leader calls spike in cases in South Korea, Iran and Italy ‘deeply concerning’
The World Health Organisation on Monday received its biggest pledge of funds to support global initiatives to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The European Commission (EC) has earmarked 114 million euros (US$124 million) for the UN agency’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to contain the viral respiratory ailment. The money is part of a package totalling €232 million that will also provide funds directly to health authorities in Africa and an EU-based initiative to develop diagnostics and treatment.
Some €3 million of the total was carved out for repatriation flights for EU citizens in Wuhan, China, where the epidemic first became apparent in December.
“With more than 2,600 lives lost already, there is no option but to prepare at all levels,” Janez Lenarcic, the EC’s emergency response coordinator, said in an announcement. “Our new aid package will support the World Health Organisation and target funding to ensure countries with weaker health systems are not left behind. Our goal is to contain the outbreak at a global level.”
The additional funding for the WHO’s initiative follows conflicting messages of optimism that the spread of Covid-19 has peaked in China and concern about the possibility of it spreading beyond the control of health authorities in other countries.
Earlier on Monday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said via Twitter, citing the findings of a WHO team that visited Wuhan over the weekend, that the epidemic “peaked & plateaued between the 23rd of January & the 2nd of February & has been declining steadily since then.”