US: An additional $ 580 million in international assistance to deal with Omicron

The United States wants to give more than half a billion dollars in extra aid to international organizations to fight Covid-19 against the ‘invasion’ of the Omicron variant, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement to Palliko.

“The rapid spread of the Omicron variant reinforces the need to continue to accelerate our efforts to end this pandemic because no one among us is protected as long as we are not all protected,” he said. “The world is at a critical juncture in our global response to this virus.”

The Secretary of State clarified that he will have an exchange of views today with the counterparts of other countries in order to “coordinate” the international response to the new variant that has already prevailed among the new infections in the American territory. “I call on my counterparts to abide by and strengthen their commitments in the fight against the pandemic. We must act together, we must act quickly.”

$ 580 million for seven multilateral services raises US aid to $ 19.6 billion, according to the State Department.

Anthony Blinken said that in addition to the 330 million doses of vaccines that Washington has shared with the rest of the world, it’s a “significant contribution to turning these vaccines into vaccines to strengthen public health media, to support communities.” in need and offer emergency help that can save lives. ”

The extra money will go mainly to the World Health Organization ($ 280 million), which has returned to the heart of Biden’s US strategy following the rupture of Donald Trump’s predecessor. Unicef ​​will receive $ 170 million to assist in its efforts to vaccinate vulnerable populations.

“The United States is trying to mobilize global collective action by its example and leadership, and it is crucial that other governments live up to their commitments,” said Anthony Blinken, whose announcement comes just hours before a long-awaited speech. by Joe Biden for the response to the Omicron variant.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

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Source From: Capital

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