WHO advocates equitable COVID-19 vaccine access

The World Health Organization (WHO) is advocating equitable COVID-19 vaccine global access, noting that placing low and lower-middle-income nations (LLMICs) without access would cause significant economic damage.

The WHO-led ACT Accelerator serves a unique global collaboration supporting development and equitable distribution of the tests, treatments, and vaccines globally.

However, officials acknowledge the program has a significant funding gap of $28.2 billion, with $4.3 billion needed to fast-track critical areas of work.

“The ACT Accelerator is the global solution to ending the acute phase of the pandemic as quickly as possible by ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 tools,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. “Contributing to the ACT Accelerator is not just the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing for all countries – socially, economically, and politically.”

Authorities indicated 10 countries have contributed $2.4 billion to the ACT Accelerator, with the United Kingdom committing just over $1 billion while Germany, Canada, Japan, and France have committed $618 million, $290 million, $229 million, and $147 million, respectively.

Alexander Kazan, managing director for Global Strategy at Eurasia Group, said there is a clear humanitarian and ethical case for supporting the ACT Accelerator.

“Our analysis shows that the program is likely to yield economic and other returns for major donor countries as well,” he said. “The ACT Accelerator is a unique opportunity to save lives, repair the global economy, and build diplomatic capital that will last a generation.”