G20 Pumps USD 5 Trillion in Global Health Efforts to Combat Covid-19

G20 Pumps USD 5 Trillion in Global Health Efforts to Combat Covid-19
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G20 Pumps USD 5 Trillion in Global Health Efforts to Combat Covid-19

G20 Pumps USD 5 Trillion in Global Health Efforts to Combat Covid-19

Saudi Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, said on Friday that the G20, under Saudi chairmanship, assumed an important role in facing the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that more than USD 5 trillion were pumped into the global economy as part of joint efforts to find a fair and comprehensive solution to the distribution of the vaccine.

In a session held on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Rabiah stated that the pandemic has had health effects on 50 million people around the world amid a severe second wave.

In this regard, he pointed to the efforts of the Saudi presidency when it chaired a virtual meeting to highlight the need to support international efforts and provide more than USD 5 trillion to the global economy, in order to reach a fair and comprehensive solution to the distribution of vaccines to international organizations.

At the national level, the minister stressed that the Kingdom took unprecedented and proactive measures to protect the health of its citizens as an utmost priority and to provide medical services and health care to all its residents, regardless of their status.

Saudi Arabia, in its presidency of the G20, has pledged to overcome the pandemic and find comprehensive solutions to curb its repercussions.

“The G20 has adopted various measures to combat the emerging coronavirus at the economic and social levels. It has laid down the basic principles for international economic cooperation in the severely affected regions,” said Abdulaziz Al-Rasheed, Assistant Minister of Finance for International Financial Affairs and Policies.



China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
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China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last year.
China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported.
Four further cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. The patients' symptoms are mild and include skin rash and blisters.
Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
WHO last August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to neighboring countries.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country's National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.