COVID-19: UN needs 'immediate infusion' of $15 bn for global vaccine fund, says Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, September 30, called for an 'immediate infusion' of $15 billion to a global pool for the procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.

The ACT-Accelerator, led by the World Health Organisation, has received around $3 billion of the $38 billion needed to meet the goal of producing and delivering two billion vaccine doses, 500 million diagnostic tests over the next year and 245 million treatments.

While addressing the virtual summit hosted by the world body, Guterres said that the resources are crucial now to avoid losing the window of opportunity for advance purchase and production, to boost research, to build stocks in parallel with licensing, and to help countries prepare to optimise the new vaccines when they arrive. 

Adding further he said that despite extraordinary efforts to contain its spread, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, reaching one million lives lost this week. He further said that it is in every country's national and economic self-interest to work together to massively expand access to tests and treatments, and to support a vaccine as a global public good.

READ | UN chief Antonio Guterres cites pandemic's 'unprecedent toll'

Countries pledge for additional fund support

Important new pledges included; an additional 100 million euros ($117 million) by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the fund beyond the 675 million euros Germany has already committed. Moreover, Britain's foreign minister Dominic Raab said his country, which has committed 250 million pounds ($320 million), would spend another pound for every four dollars committed by others, up to an additional 250 million pounds. Furthermore, Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven pledged $10 million while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted a $440 million commitment made last week.

The World Bank's president David Malpass said that he had proposed up to $12 billion of fast-track financing to countries for the purchase and deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine, also previously announced.

READ | UN's Guterres marks 1 million COVID-19 deaths

Gates announces new agreement with 16 biotech firms

While addressing the summit, Bill Gates announced that his foundation had signed a new agreement with 16 biotech firms to expand global access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. He said that the world was on the brink of great scientific achievement in the form of a vaccine. He however said that the world's low and low-middle-income countries, which made up nearly half of the global population, were only on track to cover 14 percent of their people with a Covid-19 vaccine.

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(Image Credit AP)