The United States announced a funding pledge of up to $667 million to the Pandemic Fund, and called on other donors to step up their support to the World Bank-hosted financial mechanism.
“We call on all donors to double their initial pledges to the Pandemic Fund, and we look forward to a successful pledging event in October with an even broader donor base,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said at the launch event for the Pandemic Fund’s investment case on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which will also be hosting the fund’s pledging event on Oct. 31.
The U.S. pledge covers a third of the fund’s target of $2 billion but it is “subject to Congressional appropriations and the availability of funds,” according to a news release.