A fund-raising event organised by the Gavi vaccine alliance and the United States secured more than $300 million in fresh funds and Covid-19 doses for the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, USAID Acting Administrator Gloria Steele said on Thursday.
"Investment in COVAX is a prerequisite for recovery ...ending the acute phase of the pandemic is currently the best economic decision for any country," Jose Manuel Barroso, chair of the Gavi vaccine alliance, said after the three-hour event hosted by the organisation.
US to contribute $2 billion
The US will contribute an additional $2 billion to the vaccines alliance Gavi through 2022 in support of the global COVAX initiative so that people everywhere can have access to safe and effective vaccines, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Thursday and called on partners to aid urgent vaccine manufacturing, supply and delivery needs.
"It will contribute an additional $2 billion to this effort through 2022, because people everywhere should have access to rigorously tested, safe, and effective Covid- 19 vaccines," Blinken said.
 "$300 million raised for COVAX vaccine sharing at GAVI event: US")