Our worldwide momentum in direction of COVID-19 continues.
firms. residents. Celebrities. Scientists. We’re all coming collectively to assist cease the unfold.
simply this weekend, worldwide Citizen and lady Gaga hosted an limitless digital live performance that reached tens of tens of millions of viewers throughout the planet — a celebration of music and solidarity, and a end outcome of the onerous work of many companions and supporters that additionally helped add substantial sums to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund and native aid efforts inside the U.S.
In simply over 5 weeks because it launched, the Fund has now raised virtually $200 million to assist the World well being group’s (WHO) worldwide response efforts. That’s an unbelievable outpouring of assist — and a testament to the generosity of greater than 270,000 people in each place inside the world and greater than one hundred ten firms and organizations.
Our Fund stays the a approach for people, firms, and philanthropies to instantly assist WHO’s worldwide pandemic response — and it’s additionally the quickest selection to get money the place it’s wished most.
Since its launch in mid-March, the Fund has disbursed greater than $50 million to key companions — greater than $30 million to WHO, $10 million to UNICEF, and $10 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Response (CEPI) — to pace up vaccine enchancment, equip frontline responders with lifesaving gear, and defend most probably the most susceptible kids and households throughout the planet from the socioeconomic penalties of the pandemic.
With greater than 7,000 staffers based mostly in a single hundred fifty international places, WHO’s attain and expertise spans the globe. collectively, the agency’s workers are working with governments and companions on the underside on particular nation responses to fight COVID-19. In Afghanistan, for event, WHO presently helped set up seven testing laboratories.
final week, the UN’s first “Solidarity Flight” transported important medical cargo to the African continent, the place gives are desperately wished — particularly in densely packed displacement camps in Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The flight’s cargo included 1 million face masks, as effectively as to private defending devices (PPE), like gloves, goggles, robes, and medical aprons — ample to defend the well being workers who’re presently treating greater than 30,000 COVID-19 sufferers throughout Africa. Delivered by the UN World meals Programme (WFP) and furnished by the WHO, the flight embodies UN collaboration and effectivity.
By early April, WHO has been in a place to buy and ship greater than 2 million gadgets of private defending devices (PPE) to 133 international places, with shipments of an extra 2.eight million gadgets of PPE to a distinctive seventy nine international places ongoing. The agency has additionally shipped testing gives to 126 international places and enrolled greater than 1.2 million people in on-line teaching functions about stopping, detecting, and treating the virus. WHO has additionally used funds to develop and publish a evaluation and enchancment roadmap, with a set of core protocols for the methodology research should be performed.
As a key associate on this joined-up effort, UNICEF will lead emergency efforts to be sure that households and communities in most probably the most susceptible international places are completely engaged inside the response and have entry to water, sanitation and hygiene and utterly different an infection prevention and administration measures. UNICEF may even guarantee kids, caretakers, and frontline responders equivalent to social workers, lecturers and healthcare workers are supported through proof-based mostly steering through its large neighborhood outreach and nation functions.
simply final week, UN Secretary-regular António Guterres warned that the virus not solely threatens lives, however additionally entry to training, meals, and safety for tens of millions of youngsters worldwide. The Fund presently disbursed $10 million to UNICEF to assist defend kids in want from the virus’ affect. using its large neighborhood outreach and nation functions, UNICEF may even current proof-based mostly steering on stopping and controlling the unfold of an infection.
This Friday marks the start of World Immunization Week, a important worldwide well being second to spotlight the want for vaccine evaluation, funding, and entry — factors which have been made all of the extra pressing amid the continued pandemic.
As thought of one of many essential worthwhile and worth-efficient methods to cease illnesses, vaccines presently defend in direction of greater than 25 debilitating or life-threatening illnesses — collectively with measles, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, meningitis, influenza, typhoid and cervical most cancers.
The COVID-19 virus serves as a devastating reminder of what can happen as quickly as we don’t have the defending defend of immunization. as a outcome of the virus is forcing international places to postpone or delay routine immunizations, there is a important risk that many kids will miss out on life-saving vaccines that forestall dangerous illnesses like measles and polio.
collectively, WHO and UNICEF lead the globe in vaccine outreach. UNICEF alone is chargeable for vaccinating an estimated forty five% of the world’s kids. When a viable COVID-19 vaccine turns into out there, each businesses, collectively with GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance and utterly different companions, will play pivotal roles in distribution and entry, notably amongst susceptible households.
First, the world should current a vaccine. So, we’ve additionally partnered with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness improvements (CEPI) to gas equitable evaluation and enchancment in direction of a COVID-19 vaccine. At WHO’s request, we presently disbursed $10 million from the Fund to hurry up efforts at CEPI, the place eight worldwide partnerships are working concurrently and collaboratively to hopefully develop a vaccine inside the following 12-18 months. Two promising vaccines supported by CEPI have already reached the primary part of human trials.
Alongside efforts to develop a vaccine, work may even be underway for efficient therapies for COVID-19. a hundred international places have already joined the WHO “Solidarity Trials,” collectively with Argentina, Bahrain, Canada, France, Iran, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand have confirmed their participation. sufferers have been “randomized” or assigned to utterly different remedy strategies inside the trial in 5 international places, marking the start of the testing phas
worldwide Citizen and lady Gaga presently co-hosted an eight-hour digital live performance to pay tribute to frontline healthcare workers and WHO. The “One World: collectively At house” live performance featured a quantity of artists appearing from their homes, collectively with Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, and others. The live performance culminated in a public announcement of greater than $fifty five million raised over the previous few weeks for our Fund, as effectively as to merely about $seventy two million for native aid efforts inside the U.S.
The world wants WHO now greater than ever,” Microsoft founder and philanthropist invoice Gates presently declared of the agency’s position inside the worldwide pandemic response, becoming a member of a chorus of advocates vocalizing their assist for the agency.
“Their work is slowing the unfold of COVID-19,” Gates continued, “— and if that work is stopped no utterly different group can substitute them.”
every donation makes a distinction. assist WHO’s life-saving efforts to answer the COVID-19 pandemic by giving to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Donations made through fb will most probably be matched as a lot as $10,000,000. through June 30, 2020, for every $1 you donate right here, Google.org will donate $2, as a lot as $5,000,000.