IAEA Members to fund the fight against COVID-19
An initiative by the International Atomic Energy Agency to help some 120 countries contain the coronavirus pandemic has received extrabudgetary support from member states.
The voluntary pledge is totalling around €22m.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA’s director-general, said on 11 May the funds will enable the IAEA to help hundreds of laboratories around the world, which are using a nuclear-derived testing technique called real time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (real time RT-PCR).
The method is currently the fastest and most accurate to detect the virus causing Covid-19.
Moreover, the IAEA assistance comprises ready-to-run testing packages with personal protective equipment (PPE) and laboratory consumables and diagnostic kits.
Read more in the IAEA’s article.