- The World Bank's fund to help developing countries better prepare for pandemics has raised $667 million from the United States and $54 million from Germany, moving it closer towards its goal of reaching at least $2 billion in new funding.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The fund, set up in September 2022, is expected to award a second round of funding later this year. It is one of the several global initiatives that was set up to help prevent a COVID-19 rerun.

KEY QUOTES

"President Biden and I believe that a fully-resourced Pandemic Fund will enable us to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics," U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

"That is why I am calling on all current donors to double their initial pledges and new donors to pledge so that we can reach our $2 billion goal," said Yellen.

"To maintain momentum, the pandemic fund needs a minimum of $2 billion in new funding for the next two years - a small fraction of the global cost of responding to COVID-19" said Priya Basu, executive head of the Pandemic Fund.

CONTEXT

The pledges came on the sidelines of the meeting between finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 meet this week. Last year, the WHO and the World Bank estimated the need for $10.5 billion in annual funding for pandemic preparedness.

BY THE NUMBERS

The fund has already raised $2 billion in seed capital from 27 contributors in 2023. It was used for projects to enhance pandemic response in 37 countries across six regions.

  - Reuters