Yellen Calls for New World Bank Fund to Fight Future Pandemics

  • U.S. Treasury chief asks fellow G-20 governments to contribute
  • G-20 panel urged countries to commit at least $75 billion

Janet Yellen

Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged her counterparts from leading industrialized countries to support the establishment of a new World Bank fund intended to prevent and prepare for future global health crises.

A new “financial intermediary fund” under the auspices of the World Bank would help address gaps in preparedness, particularly among low-income countries, Yellen said, according to prepared remarks she’s scheduled to deliver virtually on Thursday to a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from Group of 20 countries.