Global leaders unite to ensure everyone everywhere can access new vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19

GENEVA – Leaders of national and global health leaders today have committed themselves unprecedentedly to work together to accelerate the development and production of new vaccines, tests and treatments for COVID-19 and to ensure equal access around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already affected more than 2.4 million people, killing more than 160,000. There are great gifts for families, societies, health systems and economies around the world, and as long as this virus threatens any country, the entire world is in danger.

Therefore, there is an urgent need, while existing measures are in place to maintain body distance and to test and monitor all contacts of people who have a positive test for innovative vaccines, diagnostics and treatment for COVID-19.

“We will only stop COVID-19 in solidarity,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Countries, healthcare partners, manufacturers and the private sector must work together to ensure that the fruits of science and research can benefit everyone.”

Work has already begun. Since January, WHO has been working with researchers from hundreds of institutions to develop and test vaccines, standardize trials and standardize regulatory approaches to innovative trial designs and define priority criteria for vaccine candidates. The organization has pre-qualified diagnostics used all over the world, and much more is being done. And it coordinates a global trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four therapeutic agents against COVID-19.

The challenge is to accelerate and harmonize processes to ensure that products once they are rated safe and efficient lead to the billions of people in the world who need them. Experience so far, for example, in the early days of HIV treatment and the administration of the H1N1 epidemic vaccine in 2009, shows that even when tools were available, they were not equally available to everyone.

So today, the leaders gathered at a virtual event hosted by the World Health Organization, the French President, the President of the European Commission and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The event was joined by the UN Secretary-General, the chairman of the AU Commission, the G20 President, the Heads of State of France, South Africa, Germany, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Italy, Rwanda, Norway, Spain, Malaysia and the United Kingdom (represented by the First Secretary of State).

Health leaders from the Epidemic Preparedness Coalition (CEPI), the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund, UNITAID, the Charity Fund, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IFRC), the International Federation of Medicines Manufacturers (IFPMA), the Manufacturers Network Developing Countries Vaccines (DCVMN) and the International Generic and Biological Medicines Association (IGBA) have committed to come together, guided by a shared vision of a planet protected from human suffering and the devastating social and economic consequences of COVID-19, to initiate this revolutionary collaboration. They are joined by two special delegates: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gavi and Sir Andrew Witty, Former CEO of GlaxoSmithKline.

They have pledged to work for a just global approach based on an unprecedented level of partnership. They agreed to create a strong unique voice, build on past experience, and be accountable to the world, communities and each other.

“It is our common obligation to ensure that all people have access to all the tools to prevent, detect, treat and defeat COVID-19,” said Dr. Tedros. “No country and no organization can do it alone. Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator brings together the forces of several organizations to work at speed and scale.”

Health leaders have called on the global community and political leaders to support this significant collaboration and to provide donors with the necessary resources to accelerate the achievement of its goals, seizing the opportunity offered by the forthcoming pledge initiative beginning May 4, 2020. This initiative, led by the European Union. aims to raise significant resources needed to accelerate work to protect the world from COVID-19.