Germany has become the first country to pledge to meet its 'fair share' of the ACT-Accelerator's 2021/22 budget, with a generous contribution of US$ 1.22 billion towards the partnership's vital work on access to COVID-19 treatments, tests, vaccines, and personal protective equipment.
Last month, President Ramaphosa of South Africa and Prime Minister Støre of Norway – in their roles as co-chairs of the ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Council - made a call to 55 countries to jointly support global efforts to end the COVID-19 crisis and contribute their 'fair share' to the ACT-Accelerator agencies' US$ 16.8 billion urgent needs and end the COVID-19 crisis.
'Fair shares' are calculated based on the size of a country's national economy and what they would gain from a faster recovery of the global economy and trade.
The pledge - announced by Finance Minister Christian Lindner at the G7 Finance Ministers' Meeting today - takes Germany to its 'fair share' ask for this budget cycle and is accompanied by an additional US$ 253 million for supplementary measures for the in-country COVID-19 response, complementary to the ACT-A mission.
This much-needed funding pledge reinforces the strong support that Germany has provided to the ACT-Accelerator since its inception in 2020. Germany also exceeded its fair share for the 2020/21 budget cycle with US$ 2.5 billion provided across all of the ACT-Accelerator's areas of work, a vital contribution to saving lives, protecting health systems and reducing the evolution of dangerous new variants.
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "I wish to thank Germany for showing such leadership in making this early pledge to address the ACT-Accelerator's urgent needs. We call on other countries to follow Germany's lead in contributing their fair share, as we seek to end the acute phase of the pandemic this year. Only through acting together can we achieve this goal."
A detailed breakdown of the funding allocation to the ACT-Accelerator's constituent agencies will be confirmed at a later stage.
WHO's Special Envoys for the ACT-Accelerator, Dr Ayoade Alakija and Carl Bildt, welcomed the early support from Germany.
Dr Ayoade Alakija, who also chairs the African Vaccine Delivery Alliance (AVDA), said: "COVID-19, the climate crisis and heightened conflict reflect a multi-dimensional health crisis that is pressure testing humanity and requires a response of a magnitude we've never seen before. We must live by Paul Farmer's mantra that all lives have equal worth, and I welcome Germany's increasing support to accelerate access to essential COVID-19 vaccines, tests, treatments and personal protective equipment."
Carl Bildt said: "This clear leadership from Germany is much-needed at a time where the world faces crises on multiple fronts. We need to remember that while inequitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments persists, the pandemic persists. We hope to see other countries make similar commitments in the coming weeks."
