COVID-19 recovery is at the top of every political agenda, with many donors — including the European Union (EU) — supporting the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), a global collaboration mechanism aiming to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tools. But significantly more funding is needed for ACT-A to complete its work.

The latest estimates anticipate that it may cost between $50-66 billion to fully vaccinate the world, plus additional investments needed to cover the cost of delivery in low- and middle-income countries. Meanwhile, ACT-A is still facing a $16.8 billion funding gap for 2021. Along with partners at Aidsfonds, CARE, DSW, Global Citizen, Global Health Advocates, and ONE, we call on the EU to contribute €1.3 billion more to meet their “fair share”.

To do this, the EU should turn to the budget lines designed for crises exactly like this:

• The Emerging Challenges and Priorities Cushion (the cushion)
• The rapid response pillar within the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) / Global Europe instrument.

Read more here.