WHO CLAIMS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS NEEDED FOR COVID-19 RESEARCH

A UN-led initiative to speed up the development of COVID-19 vaccines and medications is facing a massive funding gap, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported on August 19, 2020..

The project, known as the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT), has received $2.5 billion in pledges, a WHO spokeswoman in Geneva told dpa. The UN health agency estimates that $31.3 billion is needed to fund ACT over an initial period of 12 months.

The initiative, which was launched at a Brussels donor conference in May, advocates for the fair distribution of future vaccines and medications to developing as well as developed countries.

ACT involves major philanthropic health funds such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Britain-based Wellcome Trust. “There are major financing gaps," said Caroline Schmutte, who leads Wellcome's Germany office. Schmutte also criticized countries that have negotiated individually with pharmaceutical companies to pre-order vaccines that are still in development, including Germany, the United States and Switzerland.

"This could create hurdles for a fair and needs-based distribution of vaccines," Schmutte told dpa.