The Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator initiative needs another US$ 23-billion to facilitate the global delivery of Covid-19 vaccines.
According to the WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus there is a gap of US$ 16-billion that needs to be urgently filled to address the threat of Omicron and to slow down the emergence of new variants.
Ghebreyesus urged higher-income countries to do their part to fund this urgent shortfall.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says almost 2 years, after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of Africans have still not had access to at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
Ramaphosa reiterated calls by Tedros Ghebreyesus that first-World nations should do more to address the global vaccine inequity.
He says although the ACT-A initiative has made a lot of progress, it will take a lot more to defeat the global pandemic.
Watch the full briefing here.
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The new @ACTAccelerator Financing Framework requires $23 billion to save lives, address the threat of Omicron & slow down new variants from emerging. There is an urgent gap of $16 billion for the ACT-A itself. We call on all higher-income countries to #ACTogether. pic.twitter.com/CpKKEr13Dx
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 9, 2022
The World Health Organization says the vast majority of people who currently are admitted to hospital for Covid-19 treatment are unvaccinated.
Technical Lead at the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr. Maria van Kerkhove again reiterated that the only way in which people can protect themselves against severe forms of the disease is to get their injection as soon as possible.
Van Kerkhove says vaccination would also suppress the possibility of new variant from developing.
Follow the full briefing here.
Related articles:
- WHO hopes to, by February 2022, deliver at least 30% of required doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the African continent.
- Promises to deliver at least 50% of the required doses of Covid-19 – needed to vaccinate 60% of the African population – as soon as possible.
- WHO: Majority of African countries past their third-wave peaks.
We are in a race to vaccinate 40% of people in every country by end of 2021 and 70% by mid-2022.
To deliver on #VaccinEquity, we all must do more, faster. pic.twitter.com/zlsoSMB09A
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) September 25, 2021
