Several countries and foundations are set to pledge more than $500 million on Thursday for a global pool aimed at ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatment and vaccines for all nations, organisers of a French forum has said.
The third edition of the Paris Peace Forum, which seeks to address governance issues with concrete projects, takes place on Thursday and Friday in the French capital and is dedicated to finding ways to ease and get out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It takes place as the number of cases is rising rapidly across Europe and beyond.
It also comes just days after American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech reported highly promising results for their vaccine candidate, raising hopes globally.
During the forum, several countries are expected to announce funding for the so-called ACT-Accelerator, a mechanism led by the World Health Organisation that aims to ensure access to tests, treatments and vaccines for all.
According to a statement by organisers, France will be announcing a commitment of 100 million euros, Spain 50 million and the European Commission 100 million specifically for the vaccines part of ACT-A.
The British government is also set to declare a contribution of one additional pound for every four dollars announced.
Organisers added that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was also due to “announce an important commitment during the discussion.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, will take part in an online discussion due to be streamed online.
In September, the United Nations estimated that the ACT-Accelerator had only received around $3 billion of the $38 billion needed to meet the goal of producing and delivering two billion vaccine doses, 245 million treatments and 500 million diagnostic tests over the next year.
(AFP)
