UN appeals for $6.7 billion to fight virus in poor countries

The United Nations called on governments, companies and billionaires Thursday to contribute to a $6.7 billion fund for fighting the coronavirus pandemic in vulnerable countries, warning that a failure to help could lead to a “hunger pandemic,” famine, riots and more conflict.

U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock stated that “Covid-19 has now hit every country and almost every person on the planet.”

He stated that the U.N.’s initial $2 billion requests unveiled March 25 was being increased because there is already evidence of incomes falling and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices rising, and children missing vaccinations and meals. He added that the peak of the pandemic isn’t expected to hit the world’s poorest countries for three to six months.

Lowcock said in a video briefing launching the new appeal that the poorest countries face “a double whammy”  the health impact of Covid-19 and “the impact of the global recession and the domestic measures taken to contain the virus.”

“We must be prepared for an increase in conflict, hunger, poverty and disease as economies contract, export earnings, remittances and tourism disappear, and health systems are put under strain,” he urged. “Lockdowns and economic recession may mean a hunger pandemic ahead for millions.”

According to the executive director of the World Food Program, David Beasley, there are two keys to averting the possibility of 265 million people being on the brink of famine by the end of the year: providing money and keeping supply chains running smoothly.

The U.N. requests to wealthy nations for funding all the time, he said, but the pandemic is “a one-time phenomenon, a disaster we’re hitting,” so it’s not unreasonable to ask the wealthiest people and the wealthiest companies to give.

“I don’t mean just a few million. I’m talking about hundreds of millions of dollars, billions,” Beasley added.

He also urged action to address the “breakdown of supply chains globally.” Nations must ensure “that we don’t have export-import bans, restrictions at borders, the shutdown of ports, the shutdown of distribution points,” he said, saying that some countries have already imposed export bans that are having ripple effects on food supplies.

As an example, Beasley said that if young people in urban areas in Africa lose their jobs as a result of the economic impact of the pandemic, they don’t have bank accounts to fall back on. “And if they don’t have food, you’re going to have protests, riots, unrest and destabilization. It’s going to cost the world a hundredfold more to react after the fact,” he warned.

He said that if the world doesn’t respond with sufficient funding, it will be catastrophic.

“We’re facing a famine of biblical proportions,” he said. “We can avert famine if we act and we act now.”

The U.N.’s initial $2 billion appeals have so far raised $1 billion, including a lot from Europe Germany, Britain, the European Commission with contributions also from Japan, Persian Gulf countries, Canada and others, Lowcock said.

The updated appeal adds nine vulnerable countries to the 54 nations covered in the initial appeal — Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe.

Dr Mike Ryan, who manages the World Health Organization’s emergencies operation, stated that people in such camps can’t maintain physical distance and they have “underlying vulnerabilities” with no access to personal hygiene, safe water, sanitation, food and welfare.

“That is the fuel in which this epidemic may explode,” he added.