Lahore: The United Nations (UN) on Thursday formally added Pakistan to its list of COVID-19 aid recipients, according to a news source. It also issued an appeal for an additional USD 4.7 billion for coronavirus relief efforts in vulnerable countries.
These funds are aimed to help curb the spread of the virus and protect millions of lives in these countries. The UN launched its global humanitarian response to curtail the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 25, and initially asked for USD 2 billion – out of which it has received half.
The UN will use this total sum of USD 6.7 billion for COVID-19 aid purposes until December. It has priotised recipient countries according to vulnerability, with 20 countries such as Afghanistan and Syria, in high priority.
UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said that the coronavirus will most direly affect the poorest countries across the globe. He also reiterated the need for immediate action to tackle the impending rise in hunger, poverty, and conflict.
Meanwhile, apart from Pakistan, the UN added eight other countries to this list; Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Zimbabwe.
