Norway says UN setting up coronavirus prevention, treatment fund

The United Nations plans to establish a multi-donor fund to help developing countries address the coronavirus pandemic, Norway’s health ministry announced Monday.

Norway will lead the initiative, which is designed to help countries handle the long-term consequences of the outbreak.

“A multi-donor fund under UN auspices will provide predictability for our partners and help to make the efforts more effective,” Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide said in a statement. “Experience from other crises shows that the earlier you start long-term response planning, the more precise and successful the effort becomes. It is important to fight the virus all across the world, and to succeed, all countries and organisations will have to work together effectively.”

The U.N. is aiming to launch the fund shortly, possibly within the next few days, according to Norway’s health ministry.

The U.N. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Norway likened the initiative to a joint fund established by the U.N. during the 2014 Ebola crisis.

Globally, there are more than 351,700 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 15,374 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.