G-20 receives $1.7b pledge to help countries in need to prepare for future pandemics

YOGYAKARTA - The Group of 20 (G-20) has received pledges totalling US$1.2 billion (S$1.7 billion) so far for its fund that will help countries better prepare for future pandemics, said Indonesia's Health Minister Budi Sadikin on Monday (June 20).

The initial US$1.2 billion commitment comes from the United States, European Union, Indonesia, Singapore and Germany, as well as a private company.

Speaking on the first day of the G-20 meeting of health ministers in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Mr Budi - who is chairing the meeting - said the planned Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) hopes to raise US$10.5 billion to achieve its objectives.

These include procuring vaccines, drugs, testing kits and equipment for lower- to middle-income countries.

"As we look forward to a world where the pandemic has abated, we should seize the moment to build a more resilient global health system, not only for today's purpose, but also for tomorrow's challenges. It is better to prepare an umbrella before it rains," said Mr Budi.

Indonesia took over the G-20 presidency from Italy last December.

Attended by 80 delegates in person and more than 50 online, the hybrid meeting also discussed ways to redistribute global manufacturing and research hubs to help ensure countries around the world have more equal capacities to fight a future pandemic.

Singapore Health Minister Ong Ye Kung was among the senior officials who attended the meeting. Singapore is not a G-20 member, but has been regularly invited to participate in the summits and their related meetings.

Speaking at the meeting, Mr Ong said the planned establishment of FIF and the significant initial amount pledged to it were a major development to the health sector.

"The tasks ahead in making FIF work are numerous and complex… There are a range of tasks we need to do from strengthening surveillance, vaccine development, production capacity, distribution, etc."

He said clarity on how the fund would be used, and how it would be governed and deployed - with the close involvement of the World Health Organisation (WHO) - would allow potential donor countries to convey this clearly to their citizens, and generate that momentum needed for FIF.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who attended Monday's meeting in person, said: "Crucially, the governance of FIF must be inclusive, with a structure that enables representation of all countries.

"And it must also be coherent with other parts of the global architecture for health emergency preparedness and response."

Other senior officials who spoke on Monday included Italian diplomatic adviser to the Minister for Health Davide La Cecilia and Russian Deputy Health Minister Oleg Salagay.

Speaking to the press on Monday night after the meeting, Mr Budi said: "We will discuss ways… to raise and mobilise resources to make emergency medical countermeasures accessible to all, so that there is an equitable response to future pandemics."

He added: "Over US$1 billion has been pledged in a relatively fast manner. Now we are thinking about how to have access to the goods using that fund. We are talking to global pharmaceutical companies."

Mr Budi said the grouping of the world's major economies would seek a commitment from these firms.

"If a pandemic happens, there will be cooperation between governments and the private sector."

Monday's meeting of health ministers and deputy ministers will be followed by a G-20 joint health and finance ministers conference on Tuesday.

Mr Budi stressed that among the deliverables expected from the two meetings would be an agreement to standardise Covid-19 protocols to make international travel easier, and to improve sharing of data to help identify any pathogen - virus, bacteria, or parasites - that could potentially cause a future pandemic.

The actions identified during the two-day meeting will be presented at the G-20 leaders' summit in Bali on Nov 15 and 16, where member countries are expected to pledge commitment to implement the commitments made.