Finance ministers of the world’s 20 largest economies will urge faster distribution Coronavirus disease According to the latest version of the Joint Communiqué, vaccines, drugs and tests are all over the world, but no new firm commitments have been made.
The document seen by Reuters is scheduled to be released on Saturday, and there is no change after the two-day meeting. G20 Two officials familiar with the meeting said that the meeting is being held in Venice.
The document stated that the ministers remain determined to control the pandemic “as soon as possible.” However, the G20 did not make any new firm commitments to donating vaccines and financial support to the projects co-led by the G20. World Health Organization (WHO) To distribute COVID-19 fairly vaccine, Drugs, tests and medical tools.
Ministers will agree that the WHO plan, the “Acquisition COVID-19 Tool Accelerator” (ACT-A), is a key tool in the fight against the pandemic.
The document stated that they urged the public and private sectors to address the remaining gaps in the plan, “including through the fair sharing of safe, effective, high-quality and affordable vaccine doses across the globe.”
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It also stated that the Minister of Finance will “prioritize speeding up the delivery of vaccines, diagnoses and treatments.”
In a document shared with the current G20 presidency meeting currently held in Italy, WHO stated that ACT-A still needs nearly $17 billion to achieve this year’s goal, about half of its original request.
Documents seen by Reuters stated that most of the funds were used to provide COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment (such as masks) to poorer countries.
Almost all funds for vaccine purchases have now been committed, but production problems and uneven distribution of vaccines have resulted in low doses of vaccines in many poorer countries—in many cases, insufficient vaccines for health care workers and the most vulnerable populations.
The United States, the European Union and other wealthy countries have pledged to donate the hundreds of millions of vaccines they have already received, but the WHO says more vaccines are needed.
COVAX is the vaccine backbone of ACT-A. So far, approximately 100 million doses of vaccine have been provided to more than 130 countries. The goal is to distribute 2 billion doses by the end of the year.
A WHO document stated that G20 countries have been asked to provide US$27 billion for ACT-A funding, of which 51% have already committed.
These requirements are calculated based on the economic strength of the G20 member states, but the commitments vary greatly.
Germany, Canada, and Saudi Arabia have already provided more than requested.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Italy have already committed about two-thirds of the requested amount, but France has so far only committed 25% of the requested amount, while China and Russia have not made any financial commitments.
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