WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization on Friday urged leaders of developing countries to prioritize the wages of medical workers and purchase protective equipment and spending in other health areas to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a joint article published by the British Daily Telegraph newspaper, the director of the two institutions said that controlling the emerging corona virus is essential to reviving the global economy, and it is very important to achieve a balance in the area of spending emergency aid.
“Our common appeal to policymakers, especially in emerging markets and developing economies, is to recognize that protecting public health and getting people back to work goes hand in hand,” wrote Kristalina Georgieva, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Gebrysos.
“With funding for severely stretched budgets reaching countries in need, our common appeal is to place health spending at the top of the list of priorities,” they added.