New studies found that global fair access to COVID-19 vaccines would generate estimated economic benefits of at least $153 billion in 2020-21 and $466 billion in 10 major economies by 2025. However, leaving low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs) without access to vaccinations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic would place decades of economic development in danger.
Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy, analyzed ten major economies to evaluate the economic benefits of contributing to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. These countries include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In partnership with other international health organizations, the ACT Accelerator, led by the World Health Organization, is a global collaboration that supports the development and fair distribution of tests, treatments and vaccines.
Contribution of Big Countries
The study found that the only 'end-to-end' complete global solution for tackling the pandemic is the ACT Accelerator program - through tests, treatments, and vaccines."
The downside and baseline scenarios of the IMF's October 2020 World Economic Outlook forecasts examined the expected negative effects of sustained coronavirus outbreaks in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs).
It was noted that leaving such countries without access to COVID-19 vaccines would cause "significant economic harm" and put "decades of economic progress at risk-both for LLMIC and for advanced economies."
The Eurasia Group report was commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a partner of WHO the European Commission and France in the ACT Accelerator program.
To date, ten countries in the said report contributed $2.4 billion to the ACT Accelerator. Below is the list:
- United Kingdom - $1 billion;
- Germany - $618 million;
- Canada - $290 million;
- Japan - $229 million; and
- France - $147 million.
The program needs funding of $38 billion, of which $28.2 billion is still outstanding.
Need For Funding
This latest study illustrates the importance of support and the return on investment of the ACT Accelerator's work for donor countries, which released its Immediate Goals and Financing Criteria on 10 November.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus encouraged countries to contribute to the function of the ACT Accelerator, adding that the ACT Accelerator is the global solution to ending the acute phase of the pandemic as quickly as possible by ensuring fair access to the COVID-19 instruments." It's not just the moral thing to do, it's the wise thing for all nations, socially, culturally and politically, to add to the ACT Multiplier.
Alexander Kazan, Eurasia Group's Managing Director of Global Strategy, noted a clear socioeconomic and ethical case for funding the ACT Accelerator and the Covax facility.
He said "doing nothing" could reversing economic progress for years, if not decades. But our research indicates that it is also possible that the scheme would produce economic and other gains for major donor parties. The ACT Multiplier is a rare opportunity that will last a decade to save lives, repair the world economy and create diplomatic capital.
Commenting on the results of the study, Hassan Damluji of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said the moral case for a fair global solution to the COVID-19 crisis will always be clear.
While large countries are recovering from a huge shock, Damluji said different countries worldwide are focusing on reforms that can help their industries recover.
This study contributes to the body of research that indicates that exactly one of those investments is the ACT Multiplier. It is both the correct thing to do and an opportunity that would pay dividends, helping both nations by taking the world economy back from the brink.
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