Simon Coveney says Ireland will provide €10 million to the world's most vulnerable countries in an effort to help them tackle the Covid-19 crisis.

Describing it as an UN led global fight, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade announced details of the plan yesterday. The €10 million will go to the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan which has been crafted as a plan to tackle the effects of the coronavirus. This will help with the allocation of ventilators, PPE, ICU beds and necessary equipment to developing countries.

Minister @ciarancannon, @Irish_Aid and I have announced €10 million towards the UN-lead global fight against #COVIDー19. The money will be focused on the world’s most vulnerable countries: https://t.co/ue1VfJvVHj.

— Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) April 2, 2020

In a statement,  Simon Coveney said:

"Humanity has a common enemy, which we can only defeat if we work together – as the WHO’s Mike Ryan says, ‘none of us are safe until everyone is safe.’ We are doing everything possible to ease the impact of the crisis here in Ireland and are making a difference. But as we stay at home to protect our most vulnerable, there are millions of vulnerable people around the world who lack access to such basics as clean water and soap and who need our help if they are to stay safe and well. Helping them is not only the right thing, an expression of our values of solidarity, generosity and compassion, it is also the sensible thing for Ireland to do.  That is why today I have allocated €10 million from the Irish Aid programme to the UN’s global humanitarian appeal, which help meet the most basic and urgent needs of the world’s most vulnerable communities as they resist Covid 19".

Ciarán Cannon, the Minister of State for International Development, added:

“The bravery and humanity of all of those working on the front line in the fight against the virus is remarkable.  I have always been amazed by the Irish people and NGOs I have seen working to address humanitarian crises, but never more than now.  Today’s allocation to the UN appeal is part of Ireland's support for the work of all those across the world who are saving lives in these most challenging of circumstances.”