Kuwait adds $40mn to $8bn vaccine fund

State donations now total $100mn to stop spread of virus

KUWAIT CITY, May 5, (Agencies): Foreign Minister Dr Sheikh Ahmad Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah announced Kuwait’s donation of $40 million to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s coronavirus (COVID-19) response plan.

Kuwait now has donated a total of $100 million to the global efforts to stop the spread of the virus and address its repercussions, said Sheikh Ahmad during a virtual summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, where he represented His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and headed Kuwait’s delegation. He vowed that Kuwait will continue its backing to the World Health Organization and other international partners to counter the pandemic.

The NAM Virtual Summit was held under the rubric “United against COVID-19” and was chaired by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

In addition to heads of state and government, the online meeting was also attended by representatives of international organisations such as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghevreyesus, Director-General of WHO. The Kuwaiti top diplomat underscored the need for international synergy to defeat the rapidly spreading virus.

The only way out from this crisis and to achieve tangible progress is working hand in hand, he argued.

Sheikh Ahmad noted that Kuwait considers this epidemic as a very serious international health crisis.

Thus, Kuwait intensified contacts with WHO, other relevant international organizations and friendly and sisterly countries from the first days of the outbreak to enhance cooperation and consolidate multilateral action to fight this epidemic, he said.

Sheikh Ahmad urged NAM member states to closely coordinate and cooperate in their anti-coronavirus efforts to protect their peoples and help mitigate the expected grave impacts on their economies.

In this regard, he underlined the need for transparency, credibility and sharing all COVID-19 related information.

Sheikh Ahmad, however, cautioned against premature easing of anti-coronavirus measures as it could have grave consequences on peoples’ health and countries’ economies.

The NAM represents the biggest grouping of countries outside the United Nations, comprising 120 developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Sustained

World leaders, organizations and banks pledged 7.4 billion euros ($8 billion) for research to find a vaccine against the new coronavirus, but warned that it is just the start of an effort that must be sustained over time to beat the disease.

The funds, pledged at a video-conference summit hosted by the European Union, fell marginally short of the 7.5 billion euros being sought, but more money could arrive in coming days. Notably absent from the event was the United States, where more than 67,000 people have died, and Russia.

Despite the shortfall, UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres said, the target being sought to help find a vaccine, new treatments and better tests for the disease would only ever amount to a “down-payment” on the tools that will be needed to fight the virus.

“To reach everyone, everywhere, we likely need five times that amount,” Guterres said.

Governments have reported around 3.5 million infections and more than 247,000 deaths from the virus, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. But deliberately concealed outbreaks, low testing rates and the strain on healthcare systems mean the true scale of the pandemic is much greater.

People in many countries across the globe, and notably in Europe this week, are cautiously returning to work but authorities remain wary of a second wave of infections, and a vaccine is the only real golden bullet to allow something like normal life to resume.

“In the space of just a few hours we have collectively pledged 7.4 billion euros for vaccines, diagnostics and treatments,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, wrapping up the event after three hours. “All this money will help kick-start unprecedented global cooperation.”

Research

The original aim was to gather around 4 billion euros ($4.37 billion) for vaccine research, some 2 billion euros for treatments and 1.5 billion ($1.64 billion) for testing.

The pledges were hard to track, beyond coming in various currencies. Some countries announced money for their own national research efforts combined with those they would offer to international organizations. Others also proposed a mix of loans with their funding. Pledges made toward vaccine research since Jan 30 were also counted.

Apart from many European leaders, heads of state and government from Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Jordan, South Africa and Turkey spoke at the event, along with China’s EU ambassador.

President Emmanuel Macron warned that “a race against time is underway,” as he donated 500 million euros on behalf of France.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that “the race to discover the vaccine to defeat this virus is not a competition between countries, but the most urgent shared endeavor of our lifetimes.”

Among the larger contributions, Japan pledged more than $800 million while Germany offered 525 million euros. Italy and Spain, perhaps the hardest hit by the virus in Europe, each said they would provide more than 100 million euros. Switzerland, The Netherlands and Israel also pledged

378 million euros, 192 million euros and $60 million, respectively.

Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said that beating the virus “will take more than making a vaccine available to the very highest bidder. It is going to take more than delivering it only to people in wealthy nations. The pandemic won’t end until people everywhere can be immunized against it.”

About 100 research groups are pursuing vaccines, with nearly a dozen in early stages of human trials or poised to start. But so far there’s no way to predict which – if any – vaccine will work safely, or even to name a front-runner.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top expert, has cautioned that even if everything goes perfectly, developing a vaccine in 12 to 18 months would set a record for speed.

Even if a first useful vaccine is identified, there won’t be enough for everyone initially. A growing number of vaccine makers say they’re already starting to brew tons of doses – wasting millions of dollars if they bet on the wrong candidate but shaving a few months off mass vaccinations if their choice pans out.

Asked about the US absence, which comes after it suspended funding to the World Health Organization, a senior official said that “the United States is in the process of providing $2.4 billion in global health, humanitarian, and economic assistance towards the COVID-19 response, and we continue to ensure that the substantial US funding and scientific efforts on this front remain an essential and coordinated part of this worldwide effort against COVID-19.”

The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he is confident that the US will join the initiative at some point, stressing that he personally discussed the issue with President Donald Trump. Macron noted that the US “is on the sidelines” but added that it doesn’t compromise or slow down the project.

WHO welcomes pledge

World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General Dr Tadros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed a Global Response Pledging conference’s over $7 billion outcome for research and development for vaccine, diagnosis and treatment against COVID-19.

Ghebreyesus, at an online news conference,

said today’s conference was not only for the sake of making a pledge but to make sure people around the world have access to life-saving medications and vaccines.

He said WHO was committed to working with all countries and partners to develop and produce vaccines, and provide proper diagnosis and treatment to be available for all people.

He called on importance of protecting people from threat of the virus. “Nobody is safe until everybody is safe,” he added.

Ghebreyesus said many countries started easing restrictions, including stayat-home, but that did not mean abondoning hygienic rules like washing of hands, physical distancing, testing and isolation of patients.

He acknowledged that the drop in cases and deaths in some countries was opposed by a rise in other nations. “The virus will stay for a long time and we need to show solidarity to develop the tools and share them to eliminate it,” said Ghebreyesus.

Today’s conference covers the research and development, but the world would still need more personal protection equipment and oxygen.

The pledging conference, co-convened by the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Spain and Britain, pledged $8 billion.