G20 leaders urged to provide urgent funds for Covid vaccines, drugs, tests

GENEVA: G20 leaders holding a virtual summit this weekend must help close a funding gap to buy vaccines, drugs and tests to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, a letter from South Africa’s president, Norway’s prime minister, the WHO chief and the European Commission President said.

The letter, seen by Reuters, said, “A commitment by G20 leaders at the G20 summit in Riyadh to invest substantially in the ACT (Access to Covid-19 Tools) Accelerator’s immediate funding gap of US $4.5 billion will immediately save lives, lay the groundwork for mass procurement and delivery of Covid-19 tools around the world, and provide an exit strategy out of this global economic and human crisis.”