Pandemic Response Report Card: Team Europe
It has been …
… since President Ursula von der Leyen said “We need to produce [the vaccine] and to deploy it to every single corner of the world. And make it available at affordable prices. This vaccine will be our universal, common good.”
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.
While the European Commission does not hold Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), EU Member States received a third of the new $650 billion allocation. The collective allocations to Member States are reflected below.
Ambitious Replenishment of the World Bank's IDA20
The EU is not an IDA shareholder or donor and is thus not scored on this indicator. More information on the impact of this on the EU’s score can be found in the methodology.
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.
Neither The European Commission or Member States have published dose delivery plans
What’s next?
Team Europe was among the first and loudest voices for a global response when the pandemic first hit. In 2022, it must renew urgency and action to deliver on the bloc’s ambitious promises to vaccinate the world. This year, the EU can make the biggest impact by increasing access to vaccines and treatments in low- and lower-middle income countries in 2022, both by stepping-up its financial support to the ACT-Accelerator, and by supporting the WHO’s Technology Transfer Hub and the TRIPS waiver at the WTO. The European Commission only committed $629 million out of the $2.2 billion asked for in 2021, and it must commit at least $1.4 billion more in 2022 to meet its fair-share.
Second, the EU must accelerate the execution of its commitment to share 700 million doses by mid-2022, which includes at least 300 million doses committed by Member States, and another 200 million the European Commission aims to deliver by mid-2022. To date, only 404.9 million doses have been delivered by EU countries.The European Commission & Member States should not only expedite the roll-out, but also support partners by publishing detailed monthly calendars, setting out where and when promised doses will be shared.
Finally, while the European Commission does not hold Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), EU Member States received a third of the new $650 billion allocation. However, despite a number of EU leaders endorsing an initial target of $100 billion back in May 2021, only a small number of EU countries have committed to rechannel a portion of their SDRs to low-income countries. EU Member States should commit to meeting their fair share of the $100 billion promise in 2021 and set out plans for recycling much more next year to support the global economic recovery when new mechanisms to do so are in place.