Coronavirus: G20 health ministers hold virtual meeting

Host Saudi Arabia has pledged $500 million to support global efforts to battle the pandemic

A handout picture provided by the G20 Media on April 19, 2020 shows Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabia chairing a virtual meeting on Covid-19 with the G20 Health Ministers. AFP

Health ministers from the Group of 20 major economies held a virtual meeting on Sunday to work on a joint response to the coronavirus pandemic, the G20 said.

It said a planned virtual briefing was cancelled because Tawfig Al Rabiah, the Saudi Arabian Health Minister, had to attend an urgent domestic Covid-19 taskforce meeting.

But the G20, of which Saudi Arabia is the current chair, said it would issue a statement to detail the outcome of the meeting.

Mr Al Rabiah delivered the opening remarks of the meeting.

Member countries will be joined by leaders from Spain, Singapore, Jordan and Switzerland, and international and regional organisations including the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia pledged $500 million (Dh1.83bn) to support global efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

The contributions include $150m to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation, $150m to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations, and $200m to other international and regional health organisations and programmes, Riyadh said.

Around the world there were more than 2.3 million confirmed Covid-19 cases and about 163,000 deaths as of Sunday, Johns Hopkins University said.