Brussels – This Thursday, the US, Germany, Indonesia, Senegal and Belize co-hosted a summit on the global COVID 19 response. These meetings come in the wake of new data issued by the WHO showing that the global death toll from the pandemic is now over 15 million.  The EU committed 300 million EUR on a vaccine delivery package, 100 million EUR to the ACT-A pillars on diagnostic, therapeutics and health systems and 450 million USD to the Financial Intermediary Fund for pandemic preparedness.

Emily Wigens, EU Director at the ONE Campaign, reacted: “With the pandemic having claimed 15 million lives, it’s vital that leaders step up to finish the job – and today President von der Leyen demonstrated that the EU is ready to stay the course with new investments that will help get medicines and vaccines where needed. We won’t be safe from this virus anywhere until we ensure everyone everywhere is protected. 

It’s never too early to prepare for the next pandemic so it’s also great to see the European Commission stepping up investments in preparedness. This must be complemented with leadership to tackle the aftershocks of this pandemic – such as setbacks in AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We have the tools and the knowledge to finish the fight against these deadly diseases – now we need political will. So in addition to today’s commitments, the EU should contribute 715 million Euros to the Global Fund to help save 20 million more lives.”