[ad_1]
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said this Saturday that the divided world has failed to rise to the challenge posed by the outbreak of the new Corona virus infection, stressing that it is necessary to take joint measures to prevent millions from people fall into poverty and hunger, Reuters cited.
The former Portuguese prime minister said more could have been done if the countries had worked together to combat the epidemic that has killed more than a million people since the crisis began.
“The Covid-19 pandemic represents a great global challenge for the entire international community, for multilateralism and for me as secretary general of the United Nations,” Guterres said in an interview with the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
“Unfortunately, it is a test that the international community has failed, so far,” he added.
He noted that if concerted action is not taken, “a microscopic virus could drive millions of people into poverty and hunger, with devastating economic impacts in the coming years.”
In his speech, Guterres criticized countries for their lack of unity in trying to find a solution to other global challenges, including conflicts in Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria.
“It’s a great source of frustration,” he said.
More than 39 million people have been infected with the emerging coronavirus, according to a statistic prepared by Reuters.
Cases of coronavirus have been reported in more than 210 countries and regions around the world, since the first cases were discovered in China in December 2019.
