UN asks for $4.7 billion more in coronavirus appeal

Without assistance, the world must be prepared for 'a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty' said senior UN officials

Health workers perform a nose swab test during a drive through coronavirus test campaign held in Diriyah hospital in Riyadh. AFP

A member of the Syrian civil defence disinfects a destroyed neighbourhood before residents share the iftar meal in Atareb town in the rebel-held western countryside of Aleppo province. AFP

American citizens who were stranded abroad arrive at the Lebanese border coming from Syria on their way to Beirut airport to return to the US on a US cargo plane. EPA

An Iranian woman wearing face mask goes shopping in Tehran, Iran. EPA

A Palestinian vendor waits for customers in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. AFP

Zakaria Bouamama, a Moroccan professional Muay Thai coach and fighter, trains on the rooftop of a building in Rabat. AFP

An employee disinfects a supermarket in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. AFP

The United Nations on Thursday issued a new appeal for $4.7 billion in funding to "protect millions of lives and stem the spread of coronavirus in fragile countries."

The money is on top of the $2 billion the UN already called for when it launched its global humanitarian response plan on March 25. It has received about half of that money so far.

"The most devastating and destabilizing effects" of the novel coronavirus pandemic "will be felt in the world's poorest countries," UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said in the statement.

"Unless we take action now, we should be prepared for a significant rise in conflict, hunger and poverty. The spectre of multiple famines looms," he warned.

Coronavirus around the world 

The full $6.7 billion is expected to cover costs of the humanitarian response plan until December.

It prioritizes some 20 countries, including several in conflict such as Afghanistan and Syria.

The new call for donations came as nine more countries were added to the list: Benin, Djibouti, Liberia, Mozambique, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zimbabwe.

The funds are to be used to buy medical equipment to test and treat the sick, provide hand-washing stations, launch information campaigns and establish humanitarian airlifts to Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the UN.

It also aims to develop new programs to better combat food insecurity that is growing as a result of the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Extraordinary measures are needed," Mr Lowcock stressed.

"I urge donors to act in both solidarity and in self-interest and make their response proportionate to the scale of the problem we face," he added, warning of a long-term boomerang effect if poor countries are neglected by rich countries.

Covid-19 infections are expected to peak in the world's poorest countries in the next three to six months, according to UN estimates.