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Global Leaders Pledge Millions to Virtual Summit on COVID

VOA News

   An alliance of world leaders held a virtual summit Monday with the goal
   of raising billions of dollars to fund research into a vaccine for the
   coronavirus as well as develop new treatments and better testing.

   The European Commission organized and hosted the event from its
   headquarters in Brussels, as leaders called in from all over the world.
   Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the world must pool its
   resources to start work on vaccines, diagnostics and treatments against
   the coronavirus

   She said the first objective was to raise an initial sum of $8 billion
   which would help "ramp up" work on vaccines and treatments.

   Calling in from Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged $573 million,
   saying the video summit sent a "signal of hope" and saying the pandemic
   was a "global challenge that required global solutions."

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