Coronavirus: Trump absent as world leaders pledge billions in funding for vaccine

‘When you are in a crisis, you manage it and you do it jointly with others,’ says Norwegian leader as she pledges billions towards ending coronavirus

Donald Trump has drawn global criticism for withdrawing WHO funding (Reuters)

A conference organised by international leaders to pledge billions of dollars in funding for a coronavirus vaccine will not be attended by the US.

America is facing criticism for its absence and over Donald Trump’s cutting of contributions to the World Health Organisation.

The virtual funding conference began with an offer of $1bn (£800m) from Norway towards the initial goal of raising $8.2bn. It also began amid recriminations with the country’s prime minister Erna Solberg speaking out against the decision by the US president to suspend payment to the WHO after accusing it of colluding with China to hide the spread of the virus.

Norway also announced it would give $4.8m to the WHO, in addition to its normal annual funding of the organisation. Ms Solberg said: “It is a pity the US is not a part of it. When you are in a crisis, you manage it and you do it jointly with others. Everyone will certainly evaluate their work at some point and see what could have been done differently.

“But you do this afterwards, not when you are in the middle of it. This is a global problem that needs common solutions between countries, not least with distribution, so that everyone gets access to the vaccine.”

No US administration officials are expected to address the conference, according to an official list issued of the speakers. Those due to speak include Chinese prime minister Li Keqiang and WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has been a particular target for blame by Mr Trump and his Republican supporters in Congress.

The European Commission pledged $1.09bn, with its head Ursula von der Leyen saying: “I believe the fourth of May will mark a turning point in our fight against coronavirus because today the world is coming together.”

Among other contributors, Japan pledged more than $800m, Germany $572m, France $546m, the Netherlands $209, Italy and Spain $110m each and Israel $60m. Saudi Arabia pledged $500m at an earlier stage.

Britain has pledged $482m. Boris Johnson is due to say that the “race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries, but the most urgent shared endeavour of our lifetimes”, adding: “It’s humanity against the virus.”

As the conference began, there was a warning of the long road ahead in tackling the pandemic in Europe because four countries including Britain continue to experience a large infection rate in the population – despite Boris Johnson’s claim that the UK is “past the peak”.

Andrea Ammon, director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, told a European parliamentary committee that despite “substantial decrease” in other European states, there were “four countries where we see no substantial change in the last 14 days: Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK”. As a result, she said, “this is not going to end any time soon.”

Heads of states and senior officials of the European Union, writing in The Independent, unveiled the plan to work with scientists and international welfare organisations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, to counter the contagion.

The urgent need for international unity in the crisis, and the warning that no country can go it alone, was stressed in the article signed by German chancellor Angela Merkel; French president Emmanuel Macron; Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte; Norwegian prime minister Erna Solberg; European Council president Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.