The authorities of International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO) have created a website that will act as an information platform on the COVID-19 vaccine. The website will host data on access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, and the activities of the four international agencies to combat the pandemic.
The platform, available since July 30, is an initiative of the Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics for Developing Countries. According to the WTO website, the Working Group, which held its first meeting on June 30, was established to “identify and address impediments to the production and delivery of vaccines.”
In a joint statement marking the launch, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank President David Malpass, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala “reiterate the urgency of providing access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments for people across the developing world.”
The heads of the four agencies cite “acute and alarming shortages in the supply of doses to low- and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), especially for the remainder of 2021,” due to delays in vaccine delivery schedules and contracts with COVAX, AVAT, and LMICs. According to their estimates, less than 20% of the vaccines needed are scheduled for delivery to these countries at this time through COVAX, AVAT, or bilateral agreements, with less than 5% of vaccine doses previously purchased. They further “call on countries with advanced COVID-19 vaccination programs to deliver as soon as possible the largest available quantity of contracted vaccine doses and options to COVAX, AVAT, and LMICs.”
According to the WTO statement, the following are also suggested: purposes:
- Urge COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to “redouble their efforts to scale up vaccine production,” specifically for low- and middle-income countries;
- Call on governments to reduce or eliminate barriers to the export of vaccines and materials involved in their production and deployment;
- stress the need for all parties to address trade and supply chain bottlenecks for vaccines, tests and therapeutics, and the materials involved in their production and deployment.
Agency officials welcome recent efforts to fund the IMF’s proposed $50.000 billion effort to end the pandemic, including the announcement by COVAX and the World Bank to accelerate vaccine supplies to developing countries through a new financing facility. They call on manufacturers to speed up delivery and on advanced economies to expand shipments to developing countries in the near term.
El site presents information on vaccination rates and the procurement and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. The data is broken down by country, region and income level. A resources section directs users to the four organizations' COVID-19-related activities and initiatives. (WTO Communiqué)
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