Nusa Dua, Indonesia:
G20 health and finance ministers on Sunday launched a $1.4 billion fund to tackle the next global pandemic ahead of the bloc’s leaders’ meeting for a summit on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali. But the host’s chairman said it wasn’t enough.
The 24-country fund is seen as one of the first global results from next week’s summit, where little progress is expected in the Ukraine crisis, with Russian President Vladimir Putin absent.
It was launched at a press conference opened on Sunday by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and addressed by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization and President of the World Bank, David Malpass.
“The G20 agrees to build a pandemic fund to prevent a pandemic and prepare for a pandemic. Donors from G20 and non-G20 members, as well as philanthropic organizations, have contributed to the funds. is not enough,” Widodo said in a video address.
He said $31 billion was needed to tackle the next global pandemic.
“We must ensure community resilience in the face of a pandemic. A pandemic can no longer cost lives and destroy the joints of the global economy.”
The United States contributed $450 million to the fund, nearly a third of the total.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the joint fund is an example of what the G20 can do to tackle global problems.
“I’m proud of what we’ve achieved. I think the steps we’ve taken this year will help realize a vision for a healthier and more responsive global health architecture,” she said.
Indonesia was at one point an epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic when a wave of Delta strain cases hit the country in mid-2021.
The health system was overwhelmed by the number of infections and Jakarta produced its own homegrown vaccine as lower-income countries became frustrated with more developed countries hoarding inoculations for their citizens.
The fund’s main donors are the United States, Great Britain, India, China, France, Canada, Australia and Japan.
“We meet at a time of multiple crises… this new special fund is an important tool that will support low- and middle-income countries to be better prepared for global health crises,” said Malpass, who urged more countries to join in. to be invested in the fund. .
“The pandemic fund can help make the world a safer place.”
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a news conference on Saturday that Saudi Arabia was expected to contribute to the fund, without specifying how much.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
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