The International Monetary Fund says it has secured about a third of the $35 billion in grants from public, private, and multilateral donors that it called for last month as part of a sweeping proposal to end the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring a faster rollout of vaccines.
ACT-Accelerator calls on G-7 to pay their fair share
Members of the ACT-Accelerator have called on the world’s richest nations to contribute their “fair share” in financing efforts to increase equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
“We obviously have to do more,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at an event Tuesday on promoting an inclusive economic recovery. However, the quick response made her “optimistic,” she said.
IMF proposes that some of the grant money go to the ACT-Accelerator, which is underfunded by about $18 billion. Overall, the IMF plan would fund a range of issues related to vaccine distribution, as well as other health needs, such as testing and therapeutics.
Why it matters: IMF says its proposal will cost $50 billion and would generate $9 trillion in economic benefits by 2025. Over 40% of this windfall will go to the world’s most advanced economies, including about $1 trillion in tax revenues to government coffers.
“It is in rich countries’ own interest” to ensure an inclusive recovery, Georgieva said. “A two-track pandemic means a two-track economic recovery, and that holds the global economy back — to the detriment of everybody.”
What’s next: IMF sees a chance to tackle three issues at once by centering the recovery around vaccine fairness, climate change, and debt.
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Georgieva said she is hopeful that the recent summit of the G-7 group of nations signaled a new phase in global cooperation, highlighting the pledge by wealthy countries to donate about 1 billion vaccine doses — while also noting this was far short of the 11 billion needed.
“There is a spirit of collaboration and coming together on the prospect for the world economy, and the importance to support developing countries [to help them to] deal with the pandemic, deal with the climate crisis ... and be able to deal with the pressing debt burden for some of them,” she said.
About the author
Shabtai Gold
Shabtai Gold is a Senior Reporter based in Washington. He covers multilateral development banks, with a focus on the World Bank, along with trends in development finance. Prior to Devex, he worked for the German Press Agency, dpa, for more than a decade, with stints in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, before relocating to Washington to cover politics and business.
