A new report published by the United Nations on Thursday, May 7, has said that the "peak of coronavirus in the world's poorest countries is not expected until some point over the next three to six months."
The World Health Organisation's Director-General spoke about the issues the international organisations are facing during the pandemic. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday that since "surveillance, laboratory testing and health systems' capacity in these countries are weak" it would be likely that several cases have been undetected for the longest period of time. The report is an update from the UN on the current events of the pandemic and the organisation's plan to deal with the situation along with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian agencies.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mark Lowcock, has also called for swift and determined action against the destabilising situation the coronavirus pandemic has put the world in. The UN predicts that the COVID-19 will peak in certain countries in the next three to six months. According to the OCHA there are already signs that in the poorest countries there are signs of "incomes plummeting and jobs disappearing, food supplies falling and prices soaring, and children missing vaccinations and meals."
Mark Lowcock also said that due to the coronavirus there can be a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty across several nations.
UN appeals for more to help poor countries
The UN has increased its appeal to aide the vulnerable countries affected by the coronavirus. The appeal is to help the countries combat the spread of the coronavirus which has caused a destabilizing situation inside the country. The appeal is set up to help 63 nations, mainly in Africa and Latin America.
The intergovernmental organization had initially appealed for $2 billion for the global humanitarian response plan. The organisation confirmed that as of May it had received $923 million. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had raised concerns over the lack of support for the poor countries due to inadequacies in the leadership by world powers and also because of the divide in the international community while combating the coronavirus spread.
Coronavirus boomerang
Mark Lowcock also mentioned that the coronavirus could return to the wealthier nations such as the US and some countries in Europe unless countries come together to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The UN is under efforts to prevent a second wave in the countries that are already seeing the curve flattening.
According to USA Today, Lowcock is said to be asking the wealthier nations for more contributions to combat the coronavirus in the developing nations across the world. The US and some of its Europe allies are slowly reopening the non-essential businesses and ending the lockdown. Several countries are setting forth a plan to reopen businesses and resume activities as the curve flattens.
