The United States has pledged $667 million, and Germany has committed $54 million to the Pandemic Fund, marking a significant step in its $2 billion resource mobilisation campaign.
In a crucial move to enhance global pandemic preparedness, the United States has committed up to $667 million and Germany has pledged $54 million to the Pandemic Fund. This initiative aims to raise at least $2 billion to support low- and middle-income countries.
“President Biden and I believe that a fully-resourced Pandemic Fund will enable us to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics – protecting Americans and people around the world from tremendous human and economic costs. That is why I am calling on all current donors to double their initial pledges and new donors to pledge so that we can reach our $2 billion goal,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Svenja Schulze, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, emphasised the importance of the Fund: “The Pandemic Fund is key to achieving better global preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks. Germany significantly steps up its contribution and encourages all G20 partners to join us in strengthening the Fund.”
These commitments were announced as the Pandemic Fund launched its Investment Case resource mobilization campaign during the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.
Ajay Banga, World Bank Group President, highlighted the urgency: “The Pandemic Fund is making essential investments to strengthen capacity to prevent, prepare for, and respond to disease outbreaks. That’s why we are working urgently to raise at least $2 billion in new funding for the next two years. The Pandemic Fund can use this to catalyse additional resources to fill critical gaps in surveillance, testing, workforce, and surge capacity.”
The initiative received widespread support from G20 Finance and Development Ministers, representatives from multilateral development banks, UN agencies, global health initiatives, and Civil Society Organizations, all recognizing its critical role in global health security. A pledging event is scheduled for October 31, 2024, in Brazil.
Priya Basu, Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund, underscored the collective responsibility: “We all have a stake in preventing, detecting, and managing health emergencies. That’s the mission of the Pandemic Fund. To maintain momentum, the Pandemic Fund needs a minimum of $2 billion in new funding for the next two years – a small fraction of the global cost of responding to COVID-19. As we work toward the pledging event on October 31, we call upon all existing donors as well as new funders to help ensure an adequately resourced Pandemic Fund.”
Established in September 2022, the Pandemic Fund is a pioneering multilateral financing mechanism dedicated to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response in low- and middle-income countries. With initial funding of $2 billion from 27 contributors, the Fund has successfully mobilized $6 from international and domestic sources for every dollar granted, achieving even higher leverage ratios in middle-income and regional projects. A second round of funding is set to be awarded later this year.
