The worst crisis humanity has faced since the Second World War. The secretary general of the UN, Antonio Guterres, did not mince his words, Tuesday, March 31, thus qualifying the epidemic of Covid-19 which has already caused nearly 43,000 deaths, including 30,000 in Europe.
Asked during an exchange with the media on what motivated this qualification of "worst world crisis since the UN was founded" 75 years ago, he answered that it was "the combination of a threatening disease for everyone and an economic impact leading to an unprecedented recession in the recent past. " "The combination of these two factors and the risk of increased instability, increased violence, increased conflict" make this crisis "the greatest challenge for us since the Second World War," he said.
It is also the crisis "which requires the strongest and most effective response", which can only go "through solidarity and the bringing together of all by abandoning political games and understanding that humanity is at stake" added Antonio Guterres.
#Coronavirus - António Guterres: "Faced with the pandemic, a moratorium on African debt is necessary"
An exclusive interview with the Secretary General of the United Nations to read here> #ONU #Dette #Guterres https://t.co/uUbsGqbYSf
According to him, the international community is still far from the point as for this solidarity because the mobilizations are mainly the fact so far of the developed countries to support their economies. "We are far from having a global system to help developing countries eliminate the disease while managing the dramatic consequences in their populations, in terms of job losses, the disappearance of small businesses and the end of informal trade. "
The virus could cause "millions" of deaths
"We are slowly moving in the right direction, but we need to accelerate and do more if we are to defeat the disease and support people in need," said the secretary general. The United Nations created a new fund on Tuesday for developing countries after last week appealing for donations for poor and conflict-affected countries.
Beyond traditional aid from rich countries to the poor, "we have to find innovative financial instruments" that will "create mechanisms so that developing countries can respond to the crisis," said Antonio Guterres. Otherwise, the pandemic could return to a "boomerang" in rich countries from poor countries, notably via Africa, he estimated, reaffirming that the disease could cause "millions" of deaths.
The latest report, compiled by AFP Wednesday March 31 at 11 hGMT, reports at least 43,082 deaths worldwide since the appearance of the new coronavirus in December in China. More than 865,970 cases of infection have been officially diagnosed in 186 countries and territories since the start of the epidemic. This number of diagnosed cases, however, only reflects a fraction of the actual number of infections, with a large number of countries now testing only those cases requiring hospital care. Among these cases, at least 172,500 are now considered cured. Europe is the main focus of the epidemic at present, with 31,083 deaths for 468,792 cases.
With AFP
The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribeTake international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app
google-play-badge_FR