(CN) — The coronavirus pandemic is spreading to the developing world where its toll threatens to far exceed what it has already wrought in Europe and the United States, where the world’s most advanced health care systems are found.
To ameliorate this pending catastrophe, richer countries, global agencies, nongovernmental groups and individuals around the world are being called upon to provide trillions of dollars to prop up the world's poorest and least-prepared countries.
The United Nations has called for $2.5 trillion to help the developing world, a sum similar to what the United States is setting aside to overcome the crisis.
Already, the pandemic's arrival in poor parts of the world is bringing forth horror stories. In El Salvador, curfews are being enforced by gangs carrying baseball bats. In Ecuador, the bodies of people killed in an outbreak were left on streets in Guayaquil, the country's largest city. Ecuador has reported a mere 242 fatalities and already the pandemic has overwhelmed its medical system.
In India, images emerged in which groups of migrant workers were sprayed with disinfectants by government authorities. In the Philippines, where 182 deaths have been reported, media outlets this week said 21 poorly protected doctors have died from the virus.
On Tuesday, the European Union said it was putting up $16.4 billion to help poor countries handle the health and economic damage caused by Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
“We will only win this battle with a coordinated global response,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
As the virus spreads rapidly around the world, it is becoming increasingly clear this lethal coronavirus has the potential to become endemic and threaten to appear and reappear around the world for years to come. In particularly troubling news, South Korea this week said at least 74 people who had been diagnosed as recovered from Covid-19 tested positive for a second time after they were released from hospitals. That raised the alarming prospect that people who have recovered from the disease and are asymptomatic may still be carriers.
Under this scenario, experts say only a worldwide effort to suppress the virus can ensure it does not continue to endanger people everywhere.
“Coronavirus anywhere is a threat to people everywhere,” said, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a former president of Liberia and Africa's first elected female president who helped lead efforts to fight the Ebola epidemic. Her quote was cited in a recent report by Oxfam International about the dangers the virus poses.
Oxfam warns that as many as 500 million people could be driven into poverty by the pandemic. Before the pandemic, about 656 million people were living in poverty, according to the World Bank.
The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development has called for $1 trillion in funds, a $1 trillion debt relief package and $500 million to bolster emergency health services and related programs in the world's 170 developing countries.
Experts say the aid is needed to beef up health systems, ensure health workers are protected and allow people to be tested and treated for free. Aid is also needed to prevent the collapse of economies dependent on exporting commodities and where many people live from hand-to-mouth. Before the pandemic hit, half of the world's 7.6 billion people did not have access to essential healthcare, according to the World Health Organization. WHO estimates poor countries spend on average about 70 times less on healthcare per person than rich countries.
European leaders are worried that Africa may see catastrophic outbreaks of the disease in coming weeks. If this happens, even after Europe contains the virus, it could be reintroduced via Africa, EU officials worry.
A growing number of developing nations in South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia are battling outbreaks of Covid-19.