A divided world has failed to cope with the challenge of tackling the coronavirus pandemic, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday and warned that concerted action is needed to prevent millions from being plunged into poverty and hunger.
The former Portuguese prime minister said much more could be done if countries worked together to fight the disease that has killed more than a million people.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global problem for the entire international community, for multilateralism and for me as the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” Guterres told the Portuguese news agency, Lusa.
“Unfortunately, this is a test that the international community is failing so far.”
He said that unless coordinated action is taken, “the microscopic virus could push millions of people into poverty and hunger, with devastating economic consequences in the coming years.” Guterres also criticized the countries for their lack of unity in their attempts to solve other global problems, including conflicts in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Syria. “This is a source of great disappointment,” he said.
Note, as of October 17, the world recorded 38 million coronavirus cases … The Corona Virus infection has been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were detected in China in December 2019. On January 30, the World Health Organization declared an international emergency due to the coronavirus, and on March 11, a pandemic.
