Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


UN Chief: Coronavirus Is Biggest Global Crisis Since WWII

VOA News

   U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the coronavirus pandemic
   is the most challenging global crisis since World War II.

   "It is a combination, on one hand, of a disease that represents a
   threat to everybody in the world and, second, because it has an
   economic impact that will bring a recession that probably has no
   parallel in the recent past," he said at a virtual news conference late
   Tuesday.

   He called for the world's wealthier nations to expand the lending
   capacity of the International Monetary Fund to assist poorer countries
   as they confront the spread of the virus.

   Guterres acknowledged that developed countries like the United States
   were facing grave concerns in dealing with the virus.

   But he said, "Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest
   health system in our interconnected world." He warned that if the
   coronavirus was left unchecked in the developing world, it would soon
   spread again across the globe.

   Later, a major change

   He said that when the crisis ends, the global socioeconomic order needs
   to change.

   "Everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong
   focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and
   societies that are more resilient in the face of pandemics, climate
   change and the many other global challenges we face," he said.

.