RIO DE JANEIRO, October 31, 2024 - On the margins of today's G20 Finance and Health Ministers' Joint Meeting held today, the Pandemic Fund announced that it has mobilized US$2.8 billion over the past three months in new international financing for low- and middle-income countries to strengthen critical pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities. The additional resources include commitments from 10 countries amounting to US$982 million, and co-financing from international organizations totaling over US$1.8 billion.
The event marks a critical milestone in the Pandemic Fund's resource mobilization campaign, successfully securing additional pledges and catalytic financial resources, and attracting new partners.
New pledges from sovereign contributors announced today were as follows: AUD 60 million from Australia; US$12 million from India; US$50 million from Japan; NOK 240 million from Norway; EUR 300 thousand from Portugal; US$10 million from Singapore; and EUR 5 million from Spain. Portugal is a first-time contributor to the Pandemic Fund. The United States and Germany reaffirmed their pledges announced at the start of the campaign in July, amounting to up to US$667 million and EUR 50 million, respectively. Italy announced its intention to pledge in the same range as its former contribution, EUR 100 million, in the coming months. In addition, the governments of Brazil and Canada signaled their intentions to announce new pledges in the coming months. The European Commission, France, Indonesia, and the Republic of South Africa expressed their strong support for the Pandemic Fund and called for urgent action from sovereign and non-sovereign contributors to provide additional resources.
In the first three months of its resource mobilization campaign, the Pandemic Fund has successfully secured close to 50 percent of its target to mobilize at least US$2 billion in new pledges to support its strategic plan. The resource mobilization campaign will continue through Spring 2025.
The event drew several new organizations to the Pandemic Fund. Through a joint statement, a group of philanthropic partners affirmed their commitment to the Pandemic Fund and plans to commit new resources to ensure the Fund's sustainability and success, with the goal of reaching or exceeding pledges of at least US$100 million dollars. Private sector organization PhRMA signaled its support and intention to partner with the Pandemic Fund, including through future financial contributions.
"We are pleased to see so many contributors re-invest in the Pandemic Fund, in recognition of the critical role it is playing in the global finance and health architecture," said Pandemic Fund Board Co-Chairs Dr. Chatib Basri, former Minister of Finance of Indonesia and Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, Minister of Health of Rwanda. "We urge more countries as well as non-sovereign funders to join these generous investors as soon as possible to ensure that the Pandemic Fund can continue its important work to safeguard humanity from emerging pandemic threats."
Taken together, these pledges and catalytic financial resources are vital to helping low- and middle-income countries implement their obligations under the newly amended International Health Regulations and a future international Pandemic Agreement. To date, 20 African Ministers of Health have issued urgent appeals for donors to step up their direct financial support for the Pandemic Fund.
"The Pandemic Fund's mission is clear: no country should face a health crisis alone and collective resilience is imperative to preventing localized outbreaks from escalating into global health crises. As emerging diseases continue to pose new challenges, we must respond with strategies that are dynamic, research-driven, collaborative, and well-resourced. Continued investment in the Pandemic Fund is crucial to ensuring these measures are in place, while also amplifying efforts to maintain healthy and safe nations worldwide," said H.E. Samuel Roger Kamba, Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo, echoing the sentiments of his fellow ministers across the continent.
"The new resources that the Pandemic Fund has mobilized demonstrate the commitment and solidarity of governments, multilateral development banks, and other partners towards strengthening global health security," said Priya Basu, Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund. "The high demand for our grants underscores the financing gap we are filling, and our catalytic model allows us to achieve a tremendous multiplier effect for every dollar we award. We look forward to additional financial pledges in the coming months so we can meet our goal and fulfil our promise of protecting people around the world from pandemic threats."
