Acting on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis and the recommendations of several expert panels — including the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and the G20 High-Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons — the World Bank’s Board approved on June 30, 2022, the establishment of a new Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) to mobilize new investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) capacities at national, regional, and global levels, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

With the support of different countries — led by Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022 — and philanthropic organizations, the Pandemic Fund was established and kicked off its work on September 8, 2022. Its strength and potential will depend on how countries and governments around the world commit to its vision, maintain focus on priorities, ensure adequate governance — including transparency and inclusivity in all design and decision-making processes — and sustainable funding, which experts estimate needs to reach a minimum of US$10.5 billion annually.

The ongoing COVID crisis has shown that pandemic prevention and preparedness are in everyone’s interest. Now is the time for more governments, philanthropies, and other funders to fill critical gaps in pandemic PPR and strengthen country-level capacity by stepping up and investing in the Pandemic Fund. To truly fulfill the Fund’s mission, contributions must be additional from financial commitments to other global health and development priorities and programs. 

Based on publicly-available information and intelligence gathered through our Networks, this tracker aims to record pledges made to the Pandemic Fund, with the goal of better understanding funding sources and sustainability and promoting transparency and accountability through regular monitoring.

Summary Analysis

Last updated July 6, 2023

As of today, the World Bank says that the Pandemic Fund has raised pledges amounting to US$2 billion. So far, we have identified US$1.93 billion in publicly announced pledges, of which US$1.12 billion has been officially transferred (representing 55% of the total pledges). An additional US$8.5 billion is needed to reach the US$10.5 billion per year baseline experts have estimated as the minimum threshold necessary for change. Additionally, we expect the annual financing gap is larger than US$8.5 billion considering some pledges announced are multi-year commitments. The World Bank has not yet shared more detailed data to come up with a more accurate figure. 

26 contributors — 22 governments, 3 philanthropic organizations, 1 nonprofit organization, and 0 private sector organizations — have publicly pledged to the Pandemic Fund. The latest available World Bank data show that 21 of them have officially transferred financial resources to partially or fully meet their pledges. 

While it is crucial that as many countries as possible contribute to the Pandemic Fund, G20 and OECD members are essential contributors. Because of their roles globally, these countries must set an example in contributing to and sustaining global public goods, such as pandemic preparedness and response. The following map shows the pledge status of such a group of countries.

Pandemic Fund Tracker

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Methodology

• Included pledges have been verified either by a government or multilateral website, and/or the World Bank, and/or a credible top-tier news outlet.
• “Additionality” is defined as additional to existing global health and development spending — the term is used to qualify that the financial resources pledged are new compared to other financial resources already committed to global health, international aid, or other funding mechanisms. Donor-specific budget rules are also considered in the assessment.

More about the Pandemic Fund

• How the global Pandemic Fund can live up to its great potential | Washington Post piece by Lawrence H. Summers, Robert Hecht and Shan Soe-Lin | Jan. 30, 2023
• An Effective Pandemic Response Must Be Truly Global | Project Syndicate piece by Mariana Mazzucato and Jayati Ghosh | July 20, 2022
• World Bank Fact Sheet: Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response | World Bank | June 30, 2022 
• Launching a New Pandemic Preparedness Fund: A Crack in the Cycle of Panic and Neglect? | Center for Strategic and International Studies Commentary by Carolyn Reynolds and J. Stephen Morrison | June 28, 2022
• Public Comments to the World Bank on the Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Prevention White Paper | World Bank | May, 2022
• A New Fund for Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness: Why, What, and How | Pandemic Action Network | May 3, 2022
• Calling for a New Multilateral Financing Mechanism for Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness | Pandemic Action Network | Aug. 13, 2021