West African Nations Bring Proposal for a Pandemic Insurance Fund to the World Health Assembly

Several health ministers of the West African Health Organization, led by Director General Professor Stanley Okolo of Nigeria, are requesting a vote on the creation of an international pandemic insurance fund, along with other principles of global vaccine access, at a special session of the World Health Assembly November 29 – December 1 2021. In order to fund the pandemic insurance fund, the proposal calls upon the G20 countries to collectively donate $10 billion per year, or about 0.01% of global GDP.

This proposal is framed in an open letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization. Dr. Mosoka Fallah of Liberia led the drafting effort, and it was signed by many African researchers and veterans of the 2014 Ebola epidemic, along with other international leading scientists.

In addition to advocating for the creation of a pandemic insurance fund, the letter calls upon all countries with surplus vaccines to donate them to COVAX or directly to countries in need and calls upon pharmaceutical companies to set up vaccine development facilities in low- and middle-income countries.

High-income countries contain 16% of the world’s population but purchased 50% of the immediately available vaccine supply. Allowing the virus to spread unchecked through most of the world has been not only a humanitarian crisis, but also debilitating to efforts to fight the virus, as it mutated and became more dangerous. This situation must not be repeated in future pandemics, and the World Health Assembly should commit to the goals outlined in the letter.

The UK took a step no other nation in the world did by running COVID challenge trials, and 1Day Sooner applauds that leadership. The UK should demonstrate the same boldness in supporting a vote at the World Health Assembly on creating a pandemic insurance fund and increasing dedication to global vaccine accessibility.