REYADH: Saudi presidency of the Group of 20 major economies called for further immediate donations to fund the emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic and develop needed vaccines.
The G20 secretariat said $1.9 billion had been donated by countries, philanthropic organizations and the private sector toward an $8 billion target set by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, but more funds were needed.
Meanwhile, Asian shares and US stock futures fell on Friday, spurred by doubts about progress in the development of drugs to treat COVID-19 and new evidence of US economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4%. U.S. stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were down 0.72%. Shares in China, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, fell 0.25%, Reuters reported.
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