NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India on Thursday urged Group of 20 nations to make joint efforts to ensure increased multi-lateral funding by global institutions including the International Monetary Fund to prepare for future pandemics.
Low middle-income and middle income countries don’t have enough resources to deal with the pandemics and need global support, Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s finance minister said while speaking at a virtual meeting of G20 countries organised by Indonesia.
Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged G20 members to back a proposed fund to invest in pandemic prevention and preparedness, warning that failure to close gaps in global health systems could result in “devastating” costs.
Yellen told finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s 20 top economies that the new financial intermediary fund – to be hosted at the World Bank – would help channel the estimated $75 billion in investments needed to reduce global vulnerabilities to future pandemics.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar)
