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G-20 Pledges More Than $21 Billion to Fight Coronavirus


A cross marks the grave of 57-year-old Paulo Jose da Silva, who died from COVID-19, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 5, 2020.
A cross marks the grave of 57-year-old Paulo Jose da Silva, who died from COVID-19, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 5, 2020.

The Group of 20 rich and emerging economies has pledged more than $21 billion to fight the coronavirus, the group said early Saturday.

"The G-20, with invited countries, has coordinated the global efforts to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, G-20 members and invited countries have pledged over US$21 billion to support funding in global health," the group said in a statement.

The pledges will be directed toward diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, and research and development, the statement added.

In April the group called on all countries, non-governmental organizations, philanthropies and the private sector to help close a financing gap estimated at over $8 billion to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Arabia, the current G-20 chair has pledged $500 million to support global efforts to combat the pandemic. It said then it would allocate $150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, $150 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations, and $200 million to other health organizations and programs.

At least 394,787 people have died globally from COVID-19 and more than 6.7 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus that causes it, following an outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, in early December.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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