Global solidarity and multilateralism in response to COVID-19 – Germany’s support towards the COVAX facility and Sri Lanka
To curb a global pandemic, the solution lies in global and joint efforts. In keeping with this principle, the German Government is working to ensure fair and efficient distribution of vaccines, diagnostic tools, protective equipment and medicine as means of fighting the pandemic. Germany cofounded the Access to COVID19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) last year. The ACT-A is a global collaboration to increase development, production, and to guarantee equitable access to COVID-19 tests, to treatments and vaccines. As the second largest donor to the ACT-A at present, Germany has provided 2.2 billion Euro to date. A larger part of this support is contributed towards the international vaccine platform, i.e the COVAX facility, a global risk- sharing mechanism for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. So far, Germany has donated around 3.7 million doses of AstraZeneca to COVAX. By early August of 2021, a total of more than
200 million doses of the AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and BioNTech vaccines have been sent to 138 states. Moreover, with the aim of tackling supply shortages in global production of COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring improved access to vaccines worldwide, Germany intends to provide at least 30 million doses by the end of 2021 to countries in transition and developing countries.
Aside from vaccines, Germany offers support through accepting requests for ventilators, masks and medical equipment from all over the world. Germany has provided support to around 100 countries with the donation of relief goods and 1.400 ventilators as well as around 24 million KN95 masks, 197 million surgical masks have been donated in this regard so far. Furthermore, Germany has made available 450 million Euro for humanitarian assistance in the context of COVID19 in order to help people in humanitarian emergencies.
Germany lends a helping hand to Sri Lanka
In 2020, German Embassy in Colombo, under its Micro Project Scheme, granted financial aid to PAFFREL (People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections) to help address shortcomings of vulnerable communities that were severely impacted due to the pandemic. The financial contribution amounting to 1.2 million SLR was utilized to provide essential food rations, medical supplies and cleaning and hygiene items to 39 children’s homes island wide. This intervention was especially important as the general public of the country finds it difficult to render assistance to these homes as per usual amid lockdown, restricted movement and limited exposure that was in effect in the duration of this project.
In June 2021, in an effort to combat and control the surge of COVID-19 cases in
Sri Lanka, Germany handed over a consignment of protective surgical masks to the Ministry of Health through the World Health Organization (WHO) country office for Sri Lanka. The consignment, which included a total of around 1 million surgical face masks, was jointly handed over by the German Embassy and WHO Sri Lanka to Dr Asela Gunawardena, Director General of Health Services for the Ministry of Health.
The German Government’s engagement is driven by a spirit of solidarity leading towards a strengthened multilateralism, and paves the way for a faster recovery.