Global Leaders Call for Additional Funding for COVAX

Geneva: Global leaders have called for urgent additional funding of at least US$ 5.2 billion for the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (Gavi COVAX AMC).
 
The additional funding is needed to establish a Pandemic Vaccine Pool of a minimum of 600 million additional doses to address uncertainties and risks in the virus’ evolution, provide bundled finance to strengthen delivery systems in recipient countries, and cover essential ancillary costs.
 
In calling for the additional funds, the leaders stressed that vaccines have demonstrated an incredible effectiveness at preventing serious disease. 

They also said that the best way now to protect and build on the progress made so far is to help as many people as possible around the world receive their primary vaccination while ensuring an ability to act quickly in response to any future developments of the pandemic. 
 
This would be critical not only to protect the health and economies of lower income countries, but also to protect the entire world against continuing waves of virus variants.
 
The leaders of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, all partners in COVAX, the global mechanism for delivering safe and equitable COVID-19 vaccines – the vaccine pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) – were speaking at the launch of Break COVID Now, the Investment Opportunity for the Gavi COVAX AMC. 
 
The event also featured government ministers from a number of donor and implementing countries, as well as the President of the European Investment Bank.
 
"The pandemic is far from over: while we make progress, we must ensure that we can continue to respond to the needs of the countries we support," Prof José Manuel Barroso, Chair of the Board of Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, stressed in a press release on Wednesday.
 
"We thank those that have already made commitments, and we encourage others to join us," he stated.
 
Launched in 2020, COVAX delivered its first vaccines in January 2021, 39 days after the first vaccination outside of a clinical trial. 
 
COVAX has now shipped over one billion doses to 144 countries, 90% of which (nearly 900 million in total) have gone to lower income countries eligible for donor-supported vaccines via the Gavi COVAX AMC. 
 
Together with COVAX partners and the work of other regional initiatives like AVATT, Africa CDC and the AU; PAHO in the Americas; APVAX in the Asia Pacific region; COVAX has worked to ensure supplies and delivery are coordinated as part of a major global multilateral effort to ensure equitable access to life-saving tools.
 
With COVAX having sufficient confirmed supplies to be able to protect approximately 45% of the population of AMC economies thanks to existing cash contributions and dose donations from donors, additional funding is sought to provide the mechanism with the flexibility to respond to the needs of individual AMC countries as they work toward meeting their own national vaccination strategies and adapting these strategies to Omicron and other future variants.
 
Specifically, COVAX leaders called for at least US$ 5.2bn in new funding: US$ 3.7 billion to fund a 600 million dose Pandemic Vaccine Pool to address uncertainties and related uncovered risks, such as boosters, additional coverage, new variant vaccines if required, and to make sure there is reliable supply for the poorest countries. 
 
In addition, catalytic delivery funding of US$ 1 billion is requested to support getting doses into arms rapidly and safely without undermining routine immunization activities. A further US$ 545 million is needed to cover ancillary costs such as syringes, transport and insurance for donations.
 
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