$50B investment demanded to hasten end of COVID-19 pandemic

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization on Tuesday made a joint call for a $50 billion investment by global leaders to accelerate the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At an estimated $50 billion, it will bring the pandemic to an end faster in the developing world, reduce infections and loss of lives, accelerate the economic recovery, and generate some $9 trillion in additional global output by 2025,” said a WHO statement.

The call came following a Global Health Summit co-hosted by the EU and Italy and ahead of a meeting of the financially powerful G7 nations scheduled to take place later this week.

On Tuesday, WHO said that there were more than 170 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, including almost 3.55 million deaths, while a total of nearly 1.58 billion vaccine doses had been administered.

“By now, it has become abundantly clear there will be no broad-based recovery without an end to the health crisis. Access to vaccination is key to both,” the global agencies’ leaders said.

They said governments must act without further delay or risk continued waves and explosive outbreaks of COVID-19 as well as more transmissible and deadly virus variants undermining the global recovery.

Vaccine doses need to be donated immediately to developing countries, synchronized with national vaccine deployment plans, including through COVAX, seeking an equitable distribution of jabs co-led by CEPI, Gavi, and WHO, alongside their key delivery partner UNICEF.

“Increasing our ambition and vaccinating more people faster: WHO and its COVAX partners have set a goal of vaccinating approximately 30% of the population in all countries by the end of 2021,” said the leaders.

“But this can reach even 40% through other agreements and surge investment, and at least 60% by the first half of 2022.”​​​​​​​