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"
Fund the Global Response
We need at least US $52 billion to fund the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022. Grant financing by donor countries accounts for at least US $27.7 billion, or 53%, of this. Governments must act fast to fill this funding gap. To date, US $2.3 billion has been committed by members of the G20.
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.
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, $60 billion has been committed from all advanced economies.
Ambitious Replenishment of the World Bank's IDA20
Deliver doses
Low and lower-middle income countries still need nearly 1.9 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, 1.31 billion have been delivered. Note: in response to calls from Africa CDC to pause vaccine donations until the second half of 2022, scoring for the delivery of doses was last updated on 17 February 2022 to reflect how well donors delivered on commitments when there were significant constraints on the supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Deliveries and updates to published dose delivery will continue to be monitored.
France has published a dose delivery plan.
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.