Coronavirus: so far $ 3.4 billion has been pledged, said WHO (File)
Geneva:
The World Health Organization said Friday that a global initiative to accelerate the development and production of COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments would require more than $ 30 billion over the next year.
Providing details on the so-called ACT accelerator, launched in April and aimed at pooling international resources to overcome the pandemic, the WHO said that “the costed plans presented today demand $ 31.3 billion from funding”.
So far, $ 3.4 billion has been pledged, he said, noting that an additional $ 27.9 billion is needed in the next 12 months, including nearly $ 14 billion to cover immediate needs. .
The announcement came before a major pledging event in Brussels for the ACT accelerator, to be held on Saturday.
“This is an investment worth making,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a special envoy for the ACT accelerator, during a virtual briefing.
“If we don’t rally now, the human costs and the economic pain will intensify,” she said.
“While these numbers seem significant, they are not when we think of the alternative. If we spend billions now, we can avoid spending billions of dollars later.”
“The time to act is now, and the way to act is together.”
Okonjo-Iweala’s comments came as the world has nearly 490,000 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 9.6 million cases since the new coronavirus first appeared in China late last year , according to an AFP tally from official sources.
The funds requested are expected to deliver 500 million tests and 245 million treatment cures to low- and middle-income countries by mid-2021.
They also aim to deliver two billion doses of vaccine by the end of next year, half of which will go to low- and middle-income countries.
“It is clear that to master COVID-19 and save lives, we need vaccines, diagnostics and effective therapies, in unprecedented quantities and at unprecedented speed,” said the head of the WHO. , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Separate teams compete to launch reliable tests, find safe and effective vaccines and treatments for the new coronavirus, and prepare for large-scale manufacturing.
Tedros stressed that one of the fundamental principles of the initiative is to ensure equal access for all.
“Vaccines, diagnostics and therapies are essential tools,” he said.
“But to be truly effective, they must be administered with another essential ingredient, which is solidarity.”
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
