Must ensure equal access globally for all new coronavirus COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and treatments: WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday asserted that all new vaccines, diagnostics and treatments for the coronavirus COVID-19 must be made equally available to everyone across the globe and outlined a plan to accelerate work to fight COVID-19. He said that the world is facing a common threat, which can only be defeated with a common approach.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus launched the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, or the ACT Accelerator, calling it a landmark collaboration. It aims to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19. 

"Today, WHO is proud to be uniting with many partners to launch the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, or the ACT Accelerator. This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19," he said.

He said, "Since January, WHO has been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development - from developing animal models to clinical trial designs, and everything in between. We’ve also developed diagnostics that are being used all over the world and we’re coordinating a global trial on the safety and efficacy of four therapeutics against COVID-19."

He added that the world needs these tools, "and it needs them fast". "Past experience has taught us that even when tools are available, they have been not been equally available to all. We cannot allow that to happen," he added.

Tedros added that the shared commitment is to ensure that all the people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19. "The ACT Accelerator brings together the combined power of several organizations to work with speed and scale. Each of us are doing great work, but we cannot work alone. We’re coming together to work in new ways to identify challenges and solutions together," he further added.

"I am especially grateful to President Emmanuel Macron, President Ursula von der Leyen and Bill and Melinda Gates for their leadership and partnership in co-hosting this ACT Accelerator launch. We’re also grateful for the support of many world leaders, who you will hear from today. And I would especially like to thank Sir Andrew Witty and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for agreeing to act as Special Envoys for the ACT Accelerator," he added.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented global crisis that has been met with an unprecedented global response, he said, adding, that research and development have played a central role.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the objective at a global pledging effort in early May would be to raise 7.5 billion euros ($8.10 billion) to ramp up work on prevention, diagnostics and treatment. "This is a first step only, but more will be needed in the future," she told the conference.

Cyril Ramaphosa, chairman of the African Union, praised WHO`s "excellent stewardship" in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept around the world. He warned that the African continent was "extremely vulnerable to the ravages of this virus and is in need of support".