The United Nations announced yesterday the launch of the largest humanitarian response plan in its history of $ 10.3 billion, to deal with the repercussions of the Corona virus outbreak, and cover large-scale humanitarian needs, in more than 60 countries severely affected by the Corona epidemic, and already suffering from the impact of conflict, climate change and crises Economic, while seeking to collect $ 3.6 billion of the total amount mentioned to help poor countries, warning developed countries, the day before yesterday, of the "cost of inaction" about the virus in poor countries.

Speaking at the weekly press conference, WFP spokesperson Elizabeth Perez told reporters accredited to the United Nations in Geneva that the program plays a key role in this plan, which is the most coordinated humanitarian response by the global humanitarian community to address the repercussions of the devastating virus, noting that The cost of the response of the UN program, within the United Nations plan to confront food insecurity exacerbated by the effects of the epidemic, is about $ 4.9 billion, with an additional $ 500 million set aside to prevent starvation in the countries most at risk.

In the same context, an analytical report for the early warning of acute food insecurity compiled by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization, released yesterday, showed that the population of about 25 countries is expected to face devastating levels of hunger in the coming months, as a result of the repercussions The virus, indicating that the largest concentration of people in need is in Africa.

In the same vein, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Marc Lockock, said during a video call: “There is a great risk of several famines at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. "We must act now to prevent this from happening."

Besides Somalia, which is already undernourished, Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria also expressed concern about Sudan, Zimbabwe and Haiti as well.

In addition to combating food insecurity, exacerbated by the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, the funds will allow the purchase of medical equipment to examine and treat patients, conduct media campaigns and build humanitarian air bridges with Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Mark Lowcock expressed his regret, "So far, the reaction of the rich countries to the situation in other countries has not been sufficient," noting that "the huge problems facing the world can be addressed with relatively little money and a lot of imagination."

Lockook said that, since March, only 1.7 billion had been raised. He reported ongoing talks in the US Congress and the European Union, criticizing the delay in aid from Gulf countries. He continued, "We want to see these countries do what they have been doing in recent years."

He expressed concern about "the risk of a significant drop in aid from the United Kingdom." He said that China has recently pledged to allocate two billion dollars to help poor countries, calling for "a large part of these resources to be directly supported" by the United Nations plan.

An annual United Nations report, published earlier in the week, stated that one out of nine people suffered from malnutrition in 2019, indicating that this percentage will rise due to the "Covid-19" epidemic.

According to the latest estimates, hunger affected 690 million people last year, equivalent to 8.9% of the world's population, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), prepared with the assistance of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and a program World Food, who.

This number increases by 10 million over that of 2018, and by 60 million over 2014.

According to the report, the global recession caused by the virus could lead to an additional famine between 83 million and 132 million additional people. A United Nations report said yesterday that the Corona virus epidemic threatens to push poverty levels back up to 10 years back.

According to data from the United Nations Development Program and the Oxford Initiative for Poverty and Human Development, progress was being made in addressing the multiple dimensions of poverty, before the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

Between 2000 and 2019, 65 of the 75 countries studied had significantly reduced their poverty levels, and Sierra Leone, India and China were among the countries that saw most of the population emerge from poverty.

"(Covid-19) changed everything," Achim Steiner, the United Nations Development Program director, said in the release of the report. And with his triple blow to health, education, income, and many other aspects of human life, he threatens to reverse the trend of global human development overall. And he added, "(The pandemic) is also pushing millions of dollars back into the circle of multidimensional poverty."

China: US accusations of stealing "ridiculous" vaccine research

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday that American accusations that Beijing is stealing research of American vaccines are "ridiculous."

The Chinese comments came in response to the accusations made by the US Attorney General, William Barr, to Beijing during his speech, the day before yesterday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying during yesterday's regular press conference in Beijing that Barr's statements regarding the threat and retaliation of American companies are also baseless.

She added that those, who claim that China seeks to outpace the United States, misinterpret Beijing's intentions. Beijing ■ B.A.

British minister: Russian attempts to steal unacceptable vaccine data

British Security Secretary James Brockenshire said yesterday that attempts by Russian-backed infiltrators to steal research of a vaccine for "Covid-19" from Britain "are absolutely unacceptable", but they have done no harm. The National Center for Electronic Security in Britain had said, the day before yesterday, that infiltrators supported by the Russian state had tried to steal vaccine research and treat the "Covid-19" disease, from academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies around the world. But Russia has denied London's allegations. "It is totally unacceptable that Russian intelligence agencies seek to enter into the systems of those who seek to tackle this crisis ... and are trying to develop a vaccine," Brookingshire told Sky News.

He added, "There is no evidence or information about any damage." London ■ Reuters

- The global stagnation caused by the virus could lead to an additional famine between 83 million and 132 million additional people.

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