SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it has approved $75.5 million in health care aid for 13 nations to better combat the coronavirus pandemic.

The approval is part of the nation's plans to provide more than $400 million in loans and grants to developing nations this year to help them push for health projects against the novel coronavirus.

The 13 nations included Ethiopia and Myanmar, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.

The fund is expected to help developing nations build testing and tracing systems to fight the virus and expand containment facilities in the nations, the ministry said.

South Korea will also expand its funding for public health projects run by international organizations, including the Asian Development Bank, to $10 million, the ministry said.

Globally, more than 9.6 million people have been infected by the new coronavirus and more than 480,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. (Yonhap)