Pandemic Response Report Card: France
It has been …
… since President Emmanuel Macron said "The only effective responses to the pandemic will be those which are global, coordinated and based on solidarity"
Deliver doses
Low and lower-middle income countries still need nearly 3.3 billion doses to fully vaccinate 70% of the population by mid-2022. To help close the gap, members of the G20 have promised to share over 2.7 billion doses by mid-2022. To date, 902 million have been delivered.
France has published a dose delivery plan.
Fund the Global Response
We need at least $43 billion to vaccinate 70% of the population in every income category by September 2022. To date, $0 billion has been committed. Country shares will be available soon and governments should act fast to fill this funding gap.
Share SDRs for Economic Recovery
The pandemic’s aftershocks continue to devastate the economies of many countries. High-income countries must support more vulnerable nations with all tools available, including Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), an international reserve asset that can help support countries in emergencies. Rechannelling an initial $100 billion of SDRs in 2021 to low income and vulnerable middle income countries is a smart investment in a fairer, greener, and better recovery for everyone. To date, $45 billion has been committed from all advanced economies.
Dismantle Barriers to Vaccine Supply
Only a handful of countries have the capacity to manufacture vaccines. We need urgent action to share mRNA technology and intellectual property rights, and to adapt existing facilities and acquire the materials needed to scale up vaccine production globally.
What’s next?
France is among the strongest supporters for action to mitigate the current economic crisis. It was the first country to commit to supporting vulnerable countries by recycling Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), and it pushed other G7 countries to do the same. France is also aiming to scale up aid by billions of dollars over the next few years. It has legislated to reach the 0.7% ODA/GNI target that G8 countries agreed to in 2005 by 2025. Ensuring that aid is high quality and doesn’t add to existing debt burdens will be key.
France has also been a strong supporter of vaccine equity through its leadership on dose sharing. It was the first country to share doses with African countries in April 2021, with a strong focus on improving vaccine manufacturing capacities and health systems in African countries, as well as the first country to publish a monthly doses donations calendar until June 2022
But France has lagged behind in financial efforts to support vaccination in the world's poorest countries. France committed only 27% of the €1.03 billion it was asked to pledge to the Access to COVID-19 Tool Accelerator (ACT-A) in 2021. And the AFD (French development agency) has not been transparent on how the €2.2 billion in bilateral development assistance was allocated. France must be a better role model and team player on the financial front in 2022, both in terms of quantity and transparency.
In 2022, France should use its EU Presidency role to make sure the EU supports the TRIPS waiver, publishes its own dose sharing calendar, increases its financial support to end the pandemic everywhere and agrees on an ambitious roadmap to reach the objective of recycling at least 100bn SDRs to the benefit of the most vulnerable countries as soon as possible.
