U.N. chief: time to fund global COVID-19 vaccine effort with money from national plans

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday it is time for countries to start using money from their national COVID-19 recovery and response plans to help fund the World Health Organization's global vaccine plan. The ACT-Accelerator programme and its COVAX facility has so far received $3 billion, but needs another $35 billion.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday it is time for countries to start using money from their national COVID-19 recovery and response plans to help fund the World Health Organization's global vaccine plan.

The ACT-Accelerator programme and its COVAX facility has so far received $3 billion, but needs another $35 billion. It aims to deliver two billion doses of coronavirus vaccines by the end of next year, 245 million treatments and 500 million tests.

"The ACT-Accelerator provides the only safe and certain way to re-open the global economy as quickly as possible. A national vaccine effort in a handful of countries will not unlock the doors to the global economy and restore livelihoods," Guterres said.