Words by Smiley Team
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $50 million to assist with the rollout of safe and affordable Covid-19 vaccines in lower-income countries. The money will go to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance to purchase and distribute the vaccines.
To support the endeavour further, the foundation has appealed for wealthier countries to send a minimum of one billion excess Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries.
“The world must urgently come together to expand equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, or we risk more deaths and the emergence of new variants that could prolong the pandemic for everyone,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He continued: “Thanks to today’s contributions, especially Japan’s generous pledge and its leadership in global health, we’ve taken an important step towards that goal. This summit is a powerful example of what can be achieved when we act collectively to control the pandemic and save lives.”
The foundation announced the donation at Gavi’s COVAX AMC Summit, an event that brought together world leaders, private companies, civil society, and technical partners. These groups aim to boost the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to lower-income countries.
At present, wealthier countries have more COVID-19 vaccines than they need. By sending the recommended minimum of one billion of these to lower-income countries, more advantaged countries would help immunize hundreds of millions of health workers and vulnerable people, hastening the end of the pandemic.
The foundation stated that in order to ensure this equitable supply, pharmaceutical companies, other organisations and governments will have to share their resources.
The pledge builds on $156 million so far committed by the foundation to the COVAX AMC, bringing their contribution to the COVID-19 response up to more than $1.8 billion.
The funding has helped develop tests, treatments, and vaccines for Covid-19, as well as with the delivery of such medical equipment to low- and middle-income countries. Thanks to the funding, resources have gone to initiatives in countries and regions across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, as well as global initiatives to tackle the pandemic.
The COVAX AMC is an initiative to spread vaccines equitably around the world. It is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organization in collaboration with UNICEF, governments and companies.
To support the incredible work of Gavi fighting the pandemic, donate here.
Find more information at gavi.org.
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