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Romania will contribute € 200,000 to the global effort to discover and develop a vaccine, tests and treatments for the new coronavirus. noticeThe announcement was made by Health Minister Nelu Tătaru in a message sent in English during an international video conference to raise funds, organized by the European Commission, but from which Washington was absent.
The initiative was launched by the World Health Organization and other institutions in the field. The telethon was opened to states, organizations, philanthropists, but also celebrities from all over the world. Madonna was one of them and made a significant contribution.
After the Teledon pandemic, involving some 40 countries, 7.4 billion euros were raised. The goal was € 7.5 billion, and the fundraising efforts will continue.
The message sent by the Minister of Health, Nelu Tătaru:
“This global pandemic is a challenge for humanity that brings significant changes in our lifestyle.
The well-being of our citizens has been affected economically, social ties have been affected and our political priorities have been adapted.
The power of this pandemic has taught us an important lesson. Coordination and solidarity between us are essential. There is no other option in this mid or long term crisis than to work together and support medical experts as much as we can.
We have a moral responsibility to do everything possible to provide both a vaccine and an antidote to this virus to prevent further deaths. Research is the key to developing adequate vaccines and treatments. But coordination is very important if we want to achieve all this and long-term results.
In this regard, we welcome the establishment of the platform for partnership and cooperation between various states and organizations that will provide medical expertise. We need to make sure everyone has access to a vaccine and treatments. No country and no citizen should believe or feel that they are going through this crisis alone.
Romania fully understands the importance of this principle and I am pleased to announce that we have joined the initiative. Our financial contribution is 200,000 euros. We are still united. “
Madonna donated a million dollars. Main contributions
The European Commission’s online donor conference raised € 7.4 billion to finance the development of a new coronavirus vaccine, said EU Executive President Ursula von der Leyen.
“I did. In just a few hours, we raised € 7.4 billion for the vaccine, diagnosis and treatment. This will contribute to the start of an unprecedented global cooperation,” said Ursula von der Leyen. pop star Madonna has announced a contribution of $ 1 million.
European Comission started this “online marathon” at 15:00 local time (13:00 GMT) by announcing a contribution from billion euros.
France and Germany They then raised the donation bar to over € 2 billion, with contributions from 500 and 525 million euros.
An hour after the launch of the conference, more than € 5 billion had been promised.
Italy He promised € 140 million, Spain – € 125 million, Canada announced a contribution from $ 850 million.
A donation of $ 500 million of the Saudi Arabia, £ 388 million UK, $ 60 million from Israel and $ 1.3 million from South Africa.
However, the German dpa news agency notes, it is unknown at this time how many of these funding commitments represent new funds.
Although commitments of € 7.4 billion have been made, Ursula von der Leyen said “much more” will be needed in the coming months. “Today’s sprint is a great start to our marathon,” said Ursula von der Leyen after the three-hour telethon open to states, organizations, philanthropists, and celebrities around the world.
The stated goal of this global teledon was to raise $ 7.5 billion.
Washington’s reaction: one conference among many others
The United States, absent on Monday from the European Union’s global television show to finance the discovery of a vaccine against the new coronavirus, downplayed the initiative, calling it a conference “among many others”, and expressed its determination to act alone. Agerpres.
“As the world leader in foreign aid against COVID-19, we welcome the EU’s efforts to attract additional pledges to combat this pandemic,” a senior official in the Donald Trump administration told reporters. “Numerous programs and organizations that will receive support at this donor conference are already receiving very significant funding and support from the US state and private sector,” he added.
When asked repeatedly about the reasons for Washington’s absence from this conference, he consistently avoided the question, ultimately downplaying the European initiative. “We support this EU funding effort, it is a funding effort among so many others that are underway,” he said.
The official quoted preferred to insist on the role played by the Americans. “The United States is truly at the forefront of all of these international efforts,” as “the world’s largest humanitarian and health donor,” he said. The official assured that President Trump, who does not hide his lack of appetite for multilateral initiatives, is at the forefront of international coordination against the epidemic.
WHO reaction
The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the € 7.4 billion ($ 8.07 billion) fundraiser at the European Commission’s online donor conference to finance the development of a new coronavirus vaccine, said its CEO. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO chief stressed that the success of this conference is an expression of “global solidarity” in the face of the pandemic. “It was a strong and inspiring demonstration of global solidarity,” said the WHO chief of the amount of money raised to accelerate the development and production of new COVID-19 vaccines, tests and drugs.
However, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that these medical instruments must be available to both poor and rich countries. “No one can accept a world in which some people are protected, while others are not,” said Tedros. “No one is safe until we are all safe,” he added.
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