The former prime minister – who orchestrated the international response to the global financial crisis of 2008-09 – said Washington and Beijing could not afford to sit out a multilateral effort designed to raise $8bn (£6.4bn) to strengthen the health systems of developing.
“This is an entire generation’s appointment with destiny. No one can be truly safe unless the disease is tackled, wherever it takes hold,” Brown said. “If we are to stop this in its tracks, our interventions will only be as effective as the weakest link in the global chain. So, if any issue is a candidate for multilateral global action, then it must be our response to this pandemic.”
Brown, Labour prime minister between 2007 and 2010, has helped organise a virtual pledging conference next Monday and persuaded seven major funders – the UK, the EU, France, Germany, Japan, Norway and Saudi Arabia – to take part.
