As COVID cases continue to surge in some countries across the world, the World Health Organisation, WHO, has said that a total $15.1 billion is needed to close the funding gap of more than $16 billion of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT-Accelerator) partnership.
Meanwhile, the G7 countries have pledged a total of 870 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to low- and middle-income countries over the next year, of which at least half is to be delivered by the end of 2021.
Making this known at the just concluded G7 summit in UK, the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus noted that many countries are now facing a surge in new cases without vaccines, even as he commended the G7 countries for their commitment to sharing at least 870 million doses of vaccines.He said ACT-Accelerator was a proven and operational global collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.