Access to the COVID-19 Accelerator Tool Facilitation Council held an inaugural meeting

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres calls for a quantum leap in funding for the ACT accelerator, a global solution for restarting, operating and advancing the world
• Her. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, and H.E. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, co-chairs the ACT Facilitation Council
• Global leaders – including more than 30 heads of state and ministers – are being released statement of commitment encouraging support for the ACT accelerator and the need for the necessary financial resources to leave no one behind
• ACT-Accelerator estimates that $ 35 billion is still needed to provide all countries with the tools needed to end the pandemic as soon as possible

Today, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, and Dr Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, hosted an introductory meeting of the COVID-19 Tools Facilitation Council (ACT). The meeting was co-chaired by N.E. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa and HE Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, and included a keynote address by UN Secretary-General Antóni Guterres.

ACT-Accelerator is a proven, modern, global collaboration that accelerates the development, production and unbiased access to tests, treatments and vaccines on COVID-19.

It was launched by the WHO on 24 April 2020 with the European Commission, France and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and was supported by the UN Secretary-General and several Heads of Government, already bringing significant returns; over 170 countries are included in the new COVID-19 Vaccine Plant, and ten vaccines are in the evaluation phase, of which 9 are in clinical trials, providing the largest and most diverse COVID-19 portfolio in the world.

Investing in the ACT-Accelerator’s multilateral approach increases the chances of success for all countries by giving faster access to more tools, sharing costs, and mitigating R&D risks. A total of $ 35 billion is needed for the ACT-Accelerator to achieve its goals of producing 2 billion doses of vaccine, 245 million treatments and 500 million tests.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said: “Nearly 5,000 lives are lost every day due to COVID-19, and the global economy is expected to shrink by billions of dollars this year. The case for investing to end the pandemic has never ACT-Accelerator is the best way to ensure equal access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapy, but is currently facing a funding shortfall of $ 35 billion.Full funding for ACT-Accelerator would shorten the pandemic and return to rapid investment as global the economy is recovering “.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Today’s launch of the Incentive Council brings us closer to our global goal: access to coronavirus vaccines, tests and medicines for all who need them, anywhere. The EU will use all its convening power to help keep the world united against coronavirus. With the presidencies of Norway and South Africa representing the global North and South and the expertise of the WHO and our international partners, no country or region will lag behind in this fight. ”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “We now need another $ 35 billion to move from deployment to scale and influence. There is real urgency in these numbers. Without a $ 15 billion infusion over the next three months, starting immediately, we will lose the opportunity. ”

Her. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, said: “It is essential that humanity has a sense that if and when a vaccine is developed, all countries, including my continent, Africa, should benefit and not be left behind. Humanity demands that the vaccine be considered public good for the benefit of all. We cannot achieve universal health insurance when the COVID-19 vaccine is only available to countries that have good resources. “

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda remarked, “This is certainly one of the most important initiatives underway today in the world and perhaps ever.” He added, “The difference between success and failure lies in building a robust public health infrastructure that can deal with any health problem in a sustainable way. Solid health systems combined with transformational partnerships like this accelerator are critical. “

Her. Erna Solberg, the Prime Minister of Norway, said: “The ACT accelerator has already achieved impressive results. The world has shown that it can come together in times of crisis. Norway will work tirelessly to ensure that common interests are established and pursued and that all countries and actors are heard, so that together we can maximize our outcome. “

Today’s meeting was held at a key focal point for the ACT-Accelerator, as it discussed an updated strategy and investment case for its enlargement phase. The document will be finalized by September 17, 2020, and publication soon. The UN Secretary-General has confirmed that the high-level event will take place on 30 September 2020 at the forthcoming General Assembly.

The role of the Council is to facilitate the work of the ACT accelerator through political leadership and advocacy of collective solutions in the global interest and the mobilization of additional resources.

Membership in the Council consists of representatives of the European Commission, World Health Organization, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Nepal, Norway, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa. Spain, St Kitts and Nevis, Tuvala, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. In addition, the Council includes the Welcome Fund, the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as WHO Special Envoys for ACT-A, representatives of civil society and industry.

Notes to editors

Access to COVID-19 Tools ACT-Accelerator is a proven, global collaboration that accelerates the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines. It was established in response to a call from G20 leaders in March and was launched by the WHO, the European Commission, France and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in April 2020.

The ACT-Accelerator is not a decision-making body nor is it a new organization, but works to accelerate the joint efforts of existing organizations to stop a pandemic. It is a collaborative framework designed to bring key players closer to the table with a view to ending the pandemic as quickly as possible through accelerated development, equitable distribution and expanded delivery of tests, treatment and vaccines, protecting system health and rebuilding societies and economies in the short term. It draws on the experience of the world’s leading health organizations, which deal with the most difficult health challenges in the world and which, by working together, can unlock new and more ambitious results against COVID-19. Its members are committed to providing all people with access to all the tools needed to win against COVID-19 and working with unprecedented levels of partnership to achieve it.

The ACT-Accelerator has four areas of operation: diagnostics, therapy, vaccines, and the health system connector. Intersecting everything with each other is a workflow on access and assignment.

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