On 16 April 2020, the Cabinet approved a draft order prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “On a contribution to the budget of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan”. Funds for making the contribution from will be drawn from this year’s budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In accordance with the above-mentioned order, EUR 100,000 shall be paid to the United Nations and World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan. With such a contribution, Latvia is demonstrating its solidarity with other countries affected by COVID-19, especially those with a limited crisis response capacity. Latvia has responded to the call from the UN Secretary General to contribute to addressing the consequences of the global crisis caused by COVID-19, while showing solidarity with a joint action by the European Union (EU) to tackle the humanitarian crisis. Through acting together and contributing to containment of COVID-19, the far-reaching risk of the impact of the pandemic on Latvia will be reduced.
This past March, in response to the rapid global spread of COVID-19, the UN in association with the WTO, called for solidarity and a coordinated global response in the fight against COVID-19 including helping those countries and territories that are less prepared to tackle this crisis and ones which are being impacted by various humanitarian crises.
The Global Humanitarian Assistance Plan is currently the most inclusive mechanism devised by international organisations to counter COVID-19: it offers a coordinated and flexible approach to critical needs and includes the existing humanitarian assistance measures by the UN and other international organisations in mitigating the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan envisages, in particular, providing support for the immediate health and non-health needs of vulnerable populations.
The European Union and other EU Member States also intend to make contributions to this plan.