Germany to pledge extra $1.8Bln to COVAX facility in 2021: Maas

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 18 (Sputnik) Germany intends to invest another 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in the COVAX vaccine distribution tool in 2021, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the UN Security Council.
On Wednesday, the UN body held an open debate on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines in contexts affected by conflict and insecurity.
Maas noted that Germany had been contributing to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and the COVAX facility from the outset. Since April, the country has provided 600 million euros to the facility, becoming the third-largest contributor.
“To fill existing gaps, we will step up these efforts and contribute an additional 1.5 billion euro to COVAX in 2021,” the minister added.
The World Health Organization-led COVAX facility aims to ensure equitable access to safe and effective vaccines. The facility focuses on low- and middle- income countries that will be financially aided to afford vaccines.
Speaking at the UNSC debate, Secretary General Antonio Guterres criticized “wildly uneven and unfair” progress on coronavirus vaccinations, noting that just 10 countries had administered 75 percent of all the shots.

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