Singapore will contribute US$5 million (S$6.7 million) to a global initiative to ensure sufficient production of Covid-19 vaccines and access for poorer nations.

The Advance Market Commitment (AMC) is a mechanism under the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) Facility. It aims to incentivise manufacturers to produce sufficient quantities of Covid-19 vaccines, and to ensure access for developing countries.

In a statement yesterday, the Health and Foreign Affairs ministries said this "will help support 92 low-and lower-middle-income countries' access to Covid-19 vaccines through the Covax Facility".

AMC-eligible countries include several Asean members, as well as small states globally, they noted.

The eligible Asean countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Covax Facility is a global risk-sharing mechanism which seeks to procure, equitably allocate and deliver two billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of next year.

It does this through supporting the research, development and manufacturing of a wide range of vaccine candidates, and negotiating their pricing.

As of Nov 25, Singapore is one of 97 self-financing participants in the facility.

The facility's implementing partners are the World Health Organisation; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Singapore also co-chairs the Friends of the Covax Facility group with Switzerland to support the work of the facility.

The two ministries said that the pandemic has had a significant impact on public health, society and the economy both at home and abroad.

"The virus does not respect borders, and no one is safe until everyone is safe," they said, adding that "the successful development of safe and efficacious vaccines is a critical step towards overcoming the pandemic".

They added: "Singapore will continue to work closely with our in-ternational partners, in particular, the United Nations; the World Health Organisation; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to advance vaccine multilateralism and forge a global response to this pandemic."