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 The purpose of the fund is to assist developing countries with weak
health systems in addressing the crisis as well as to tackle the
long-term consequences. The United Nations could make a formal
announcement this week, the ministry said.
Norway, which suggested the fund, has not committed how much money
it would put into the initiative, similar to a 2014 United Nations
Ebola Response Fund.
"We want to make sure that the efforts are as unified as possible
and as early as possible so that we can answer up to the demands
that countries will have, especially the poorest countries," Foreign
Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide told Reuters.
Almost 340,000 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus
across the world and more than 14,500 have died, with deaths in
Italy surpassing the toll in China, where the outbreak began,
according to a Reuters tally.
In Africa, Angola, Eritrea and Uganda have confirmed their first
cases, while Mauritius recorded its first death as the virus spreads
across the continent despite efforts by governments to hold it back.
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In the Middle East, the first two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the
densely populated Gaza Strip on Sunday.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called on wealthy countries
to not just think about their citizens but help less-prepared nations tackle the
crisis.
"A wealthy country must not be convinced that it has only to deal with its own
citizens. It's in the interests of a wealthy country to contribute to a global
response because the crisis can come from wherever, at any moment," he told
reporters.
(Editing by Terje Solsvik)
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