Adequate funding of the global pandemic recovery strategy is needed, the GAVI said.
Developed countries should use their capabilities to raise the necessary money to provide COVID-vaccines to poor countries. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, GAVI Alliance Chairman of Board, called on the G20 leaders to do this on Saturday, November 21.
“The virus wins. Only through adequate funding of a global exit strategy such as ACT Accelerator and its COVAX mechanism can economic viability be restored and catastrophe prevented in the poorest countries,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
COVAX is currently providing 2 billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021. The GAVI is confident that the demand for vaccines will be very high, which makes the task of equitable distribution even more urgent because “as long as everything is not protected, no one will be safe.
“The G20 leaders’ pledge to invest $4.6 billion to fill the immediate funding gap for the ACT Accelerator, made in March 2020, will save lives, provide a basis for mass procurement and delivery of tests, treatments, and vaccines — worldwide,” Okonjo-Iweala added.
In doing so, a total commitment to raising the $24 billion needed in 2021 for COVID-19 will provide a solid foundation for ending the active pandemic phase.
Note that the GAVI Alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a global public-private health partnership dedicated to “immunization for all”.
The day before Pfizer started the process of registering COVID-vaccines. Within a year, Pfizer and Biotech intend to produce more than 1.3 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines.
