There is no time for covid-19 complacency, say key countries responsible for tracking global spread of COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments

• The warning comes from Norway and South Africa on behalf of the ACT-Accelerator’s facilitation board, as the application of medical countermeasures and other tools stagnates

• Emphasize that the global pandemic is far from over, and say coordinated action, funding and political commitments are key to saving lives and preventing economic, health and societal harm from COVID-19

• A new report from the Council’s Diagnostics and Therapeutics Working Group outlines key recommendations for improving access to COVID-19 tests and treatments

Track and accelerate progress to reach everyone, everywhere

With the third United Nations General Assembly on the COVID-19 pandemic coming to an end, many countries are far from achieving global targets related to vaccination coverage, testing rates, and access to treatments and personal protective equipment. The co-chairs of the ACT-Accelerator’s Tracking and Acceleration of Progress Working Group caution that coordinated action, continued political will and funding commitments are still required to save lives and combat the ongoing threat of COVID-19.

The group — which is co-chaired by Indonesia and the United States — is responsible for tracking progress toward global COVID-19 goals for access to vaccines, diagnostics, treatments and personal protective equipment, under the umbrella of the ACT-Accelerator Partnership.

Ahead of several high-level events at the United Nations General Assembly to assess progress, Indonesia’s Tri Tharyat and Loyce Pace from the United States highlighted that while progress is being made, the global threat of COVID-19 is far from over, especially for groups at risk. in low-income countries. According to the latest global COVID Access Tracker data, around a quarter of the world’s most vulnerable people still need an initial series of COVID-19 vaccines (24% of the elderly and 26% of health workers).

Indonesian Ambassador Tri Thurayat, Director General of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said:Critical funding and political leadership are needed to start tests, treatments, and vaccines. ACT-Accelerator’s funding will support its work to expand access to life-saving tools, from new oral antivirals to booster vaccine doses, to ensure health care workers and those most at risk are protected wherever they are in the world. We must quickly translate vaccines into a vaccination. No one is safe until everyone is safe.”

The Working Group notes with concern that:

• Vaccination rates against COVID-19 in low-income countries are 19%, compared to about 75% in high-income countries.
• Low-income and lower-middle-income countries are still far from 100 tests per 100,000 population per target day; Low-income countries experience an average of 2/100 thousand of the population, while the population of the lower middle-income countries is 22/100 thousand.
• Deployment of new life-saving COVID-19 treatments, including oral antivirals, in low-income and lower-middle-income countries remains limited or non-existent.
• Equitable access to COVID-19 countermeasures and readiness for delivery is critical for countries to integrate virus management into their primary health systems, as part of a long-term strategy.

Loyce Pace, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services, said: “Supporting vaccine readiness and uptake makes an important difference to increase COVID-19 vaccine coverage and dramatically reduce the number of countries with very low COVID-19 vaccination rates. Coverage of the initial series in COVAX AMC 92 countries increased from 28% in January 2022 to 51% in September. There is still progress to be made in global vaccination rates and lessons on how to apply successful efforts to testing or treatment initiatives at the country level.”

Access to tests and treatments is key for those most at risk

With the publication of a report on access to COVID-19 tests and treatments today, the co-chairs of the Council’s Treatment and Diagnostics Working Group, Mustaqeem de Gama of South Africa and Ian Dalton of the United Kingdom, are highlighting the decline in testing rates and the lack of equitable access to new anti-viral therapies. Viruses for COVID-19.

The working group’s report emphasizes that diagnosis and treatment, and associated testing-to-treatment strategies, are essential components of pandemic response, both for COVID-19 and future health threats. The report makes sixteen recommendations for action to control COVID-19 in the medium and long term, as well as strengthen prevention, preparedness and response (PPR).

Straight de Gama, Director of Legal International Trade at the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said: “The rapid and equitable deployment of vaccines, tests and treatments is critical to helping countries combat COVID-19. Without proper testing and sequencing, the world is blinded to the evolution of the virus and potential new variants. People in low- and middle-income countries continue to die from lack of access to antiviral treatments. and oxygen. We must push for equitable access to COVID-19 tools, despite multiple competing priorities.”

Ian Dalton, Head of Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, said: As the report explains, investments in diagnostic and treatment capabilities for COVID-19 are paying off for future pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. There are action points to take forward from the analysis conducted by the working group, and I hope the partners will see it as a starting point for action.”

Redouble efforts and political momentum

In the context of these calls to action, a series of high-level events at the United Nations General Assembly will highlight the dissemination of COVID-19 tools and the urgent need for action and continued political support to achieve equitable access.

An event hosted by the UN Secretary-General on September 23^{research and development} It will assess the global launch of COVID-19 vaccines, diagnoses and treatments, identify priority areas to accelerate equitable access, and seek to mobilize additional political support to effectively end the pandemic this year, by accelerating vaccination rates and implementing test-to-treat strategies everywhere.

A Ministerial Meeting of Foreign Affairs, co-chaired by Bangladesh, Botswana, Spain and the USA, as part of the Global COVID-19 Action Plan (GAP) initiative, will be held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. It will focus on maintaining continued political engagement, coordination, and action to end the acute phase of the pandemic, including vaccine delivery, filling information gaps, strengthening the supply chain, supporting health workers, access to diagnosis and treatment, and global health in the future. Security architecture.

Jon Arne Röttingen, Norway’s Ambassador for Global Health, said:We have made tremendous collective progress, thanks to the work of countries, ACT-A agencies, financial contributors, civil society and other partners. We call on countries to support achieving vaccine coverage targets in all countries, as well as initiating testing and treatment programmes. There is still a funding gap to get this job done and all countries must make equitable contributions to the ACT-Accelerator.”

Professor Olive Chisana, Adviser to the President on Social Policy, South Africa said:The pandemic remains a threat to life and livelihoods, especially in Africa, where millions of people remain unvaccinated and do not have access to new antiviral treatments. Now is not the time for complacency, but instead it is the time to work together in solidarity, to ensure universal access, everywhere.”

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Note to editors

ACT-Accelerator is the only comprehensive global solution to the pandemic, supporting access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines from research to initiation. The initiative is centered around the three pillars of Diagnosis, Treatment and Vaccines (COVAX), with a comprehensive link to health systems and response.

The main partner agencies of the ACT-Accelerator are: CEPI, FIND, Gavi, Global Fund, UNICEF, Unitaid, Wellcome, WHO, World Bank and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The ACT-Accelerator Facilitation Board provides high-level advice, direction, and leadership to facilitate the work of the ACT-Accelerator. It is co-chaired by Norway and South Africa.

The facilitating council has three working groups – more details can be found here.

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