Arming the world for the next pandemic: Germany is strengthening its global pandemic fund

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Svenja Schulze, Minister of Development: “The corona pandemic has shown us all that viruses are not confined to borders. How well we are protected here in Germany from the next pandemic depends on the laboratory capacity in Burkina Faso or Togo, or on how well trained the medical professionals are in Cambodia. The Global Pandemic Fund helps the entire global community to better protect itself from pandemics by strengthening the health systems of developing countries around the world. It also makes sense financially. Effective prevention is much cheaper than the enormous costs associated with a pandemic. That is why the Federal Ministry for Development is strengthening the Pandemic Fund by an additional 50 million euros. This is money well invested.”

Through one G20 The Pandemic Fund, established and based by the World Bank, was launched to take direct lessons from the 2022 COVID pandemic, to enable the global community to respond more quickly and effectively to future outbreaks and, if possible, to prevent them from occurring in the first place. The funds will be used to better equip laboratories in poor countries, build public health facilities, and train health workers. The fund will also enable the expansion of early warning systems and better networking of data and assessment systems. This area has proven to be a weak point in many poor countries when the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

Based on the new strategy for the next five years presented today, the Pandemic Fund plans to:Investment Case” shows why and how valuable the fund’s investment in epidemic prevention is. For example, the World Bank’s analysis and WHO The additional funding requirement for global pandemic preparedness has been increased to $10.5 billion per year. The economic cost of the coronavirus crisis has been assessed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).IMF) By contrast, it is estimated to be at least $12.5 trillion by 2022. That is more than 1,000 times the annual amount and more than 100 times the amount needed for preventive measures over the next decade to completely prevent or at least significantly weaken the pandemic. That is why the fund is appealing for additional funds, as it is expected to run out of available funds by mid-2026.

Germany supports together with many other partners, including the World Bank, regional development banks and the World Health Organization (WHO).WHO) and others United Nations– Organization – this is the fund’s main task from the beginning. With the new announcement of 50 million euros, Germany remains the third largest donor. The Federal Government has already pledged 119 million euros. For the first time, many countries from the ‘South’, such as China, Indonesia, India and South Africa, are also contributing to this type of fund.