Published April 7, 2020
The European Union is to put up 15 billion euros ( $ 16 .4 billion) to help poor countries fight the coronavirus epidemic, the bloc ’s chief announced on Tuesday .
European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the money would help countries with weak healthcare systems tackle the impact of COVID -19 and also aid their long - term economic recovery .
Beating the pandemic in Europe alone is not enough , officials say , pointing out that if coronavirus continues to rage elsewhere in the world , it will simply return in time .
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“ We will only win this battle with a coordinated global response ,” von der Leyen said in a video posted on Twitter .
“ This is why the European Union is securing more than 15 billion euros to help our partners worldwide to fight coronavirus. ”
The brief video did not give details of where the money would come from nor which countries would benefit .
But officials have previously identified Africa as a concern because of its links to Europe and the poor state of healthcare in many of its countries .
A senior EU official last week warned it would be “ completely useless ” to defeat coronavirus in Europe if it simply re -emerged from nearby countries struggling to contain it .
“ Africa could experience the same problems that we are facing in Europe in a matter of weeks ,” von der Leyen said in her video on Tuesday .
“ They need our help to slow down the spread of the virus as we needed help in this crisis. ”
Europe has been the epicentre of the virus in recent weeks but last week the EU ’s diplomatic chief Josep Borrell warned the virus could “ get out of control very rapidly ” in Africa.
EU development ministers will meet by video call on Wednesday to discuss details of financial help for vulnerable countries .
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