WHO gives countries deadline to join COVAX plan to ensure 'fair & efficient distribution'

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a live-streamed conference on September 13 that countries must join the World Health Organization's (WHO) COVAX vaccine program latest by September 18, adding, that the new deadline would help ensure that immunizations are "fairly and efficiently distributed".  Thus far, over 92 lower-income nations have sought assistance via the COVAX facility, WHO director-General said. Further, he urged the rich nations who haven't joined yet to “confirm intentions” if they wanted to be a part of the ACT Accelerator Facilitation Council’s initiative, latest by the end of the week. “But we must not wait for the vaccine, we must work with the tools we have,” he insisted.

WHO’s ACT-Accelerator is an up-and-running, global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It was launched on 24 April 2020 by WHO with the European Commission, France, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and supported by the UN Secretary-General and multiple Heads of Government. Under this facility, WHO started the COVAX plan which is aimed at providing equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine to countries without discrimination. Typically, according to WHO, COVAX is a mechanism to enable “globally coordinated” efforts in interests of all countries, including those that invested in the vaccines.

"Initially, when there will be limited supply (of COVID-19 vaccines), it's important to provide the vaccine to those at highest risk around the globe," the WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had explained at a media briefing at the launch, as he had urged member states to join the vaccine arm of the Act-Accelerator.

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The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, and H.E. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway. Further, in the conference, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appealed the nations for a quantum leap in funding for the ACT-Accelerator “to get the world moving, working and prospering again.” WHO emphasized that the ACT-Accelerator facility would increase the chance of success for all countries by giving access to a greater number of tools more quickly. 

“If people in low- and middle-income countries miss out on vaccines, the virus will continue to kill and the economic recovery globally will be delayed,” Tedros said at the inaugural meeting of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator Facilitation Council, in the presence of Dr Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

EU "will unite the world" against coronavirus

Meanwhile, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said, “Today’s launch of the Facilitation Council brings us closer to our global goal: access to coronavirus vaccines, tests, and treatments for everyone who needs them, anywhere.” He added, “EU will use all its convening power to help keep the world united against coronavirus with the chairmanship of Norway and South Africa and expertise of the WHO and international partners. He said that via the COVAX plan, the council aims that no country or region will be left behind in the fight against the coronavirus.

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