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MEDIA RELEASE
2 June 2021
The Australian Global Health Alliance and Pacific Friends of Global Health welcome the news that the Australian Government has pledged an additional $50 million to COVAX, the global mechanism to ensure access to safe and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for 92 of the world’s poorest countries.
Today’s commitment from Australia is in addition to the $80 million committed to COVAX last year, and the $623 million committed bilaterally to assist vaccine coverage in the Pacific and South East Asia.
Professor Jane den Hollander AO, Chair of the Australian Global Health Alliance said:
“We commend the Australian Government for continuing to take action to help speed up the end to this devastating pandemic – here in our region, and across the world.
“We cannot stand by and watch the world’s poorest countries, who have received just 1.3 per cent of the world’s vaccines to date, struggle to protect their own. This contribution to COVAX will complement Australia’s existing vaccine support packages to our region and make a difference to ensuring that more people, living in countries less fortunate than Australia, are protected against this deadly virus.
Professor Brendan Crabb AC, Chair of Pacific Friends of Global Health said:
“Australia’s new pledge to COVAX has taken us one step closer to closing the global funding gap required to end this pandemic. But there’s still a long way to go, and Australia can, and must, do more.
“We’re watching in real time as the virus continues to evolve and spread and cause devastation across the globe. We’ve been lucky – so far – that our current portfolio of vaccines has proven effective against these new strains, but the longer it circulates, the less likely it is that will remain the case. We cannot get complacent.
“We must throw everything we can at this to ensure that everyone, everywhere is vaccinated as soon as possible, and multilateral efforts like COVAX are our best chance to achieve this. We can’t open up borders, trade or travel without it. A fully funded global COVID response is the smartest investment we can make, as a nation, and as a global economy.”
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Media Contact
Ranya Alkadamani | 0434 664 589 | ranya@impactgroupinternational.com
ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN GLOBAL HEALTH ALLIANCE
Formed in 2016, Australian Global Health Alliance cultivates a comprehensive perspective of the regional global health ecosystem and identifies non-traditional partnerships that individual organisations and institutions often can’t do. These strategic connections impact over the long term to:
- provide a platform for the identification of new partnerships, joint ventures and professional relationships
- enhance the capability and capacity of Australian-based global health and development organisations through creative convergence and collaboration
- establish communities of practice across silos in global health
- profile Australia as the global health and sustainable development hub in our region
- build the capacity of the sector and drive sectoral reform and disruption
- support the Alliance as a credible and respected voice
Our approach to building more effective organisations and the capacity of the sector is aligned to a longer term vision for more equitable and improved global health outcomes – mirroring the goals of similar organisations such as the Washington Global Health Alliance while at the same time forging our own alliances to combat other areas in global health.
ABOUT PACIFIC FRIENDS OF GLOBAL HEALTH
Pacific Friends of Global Health (“Pacific Friends”) serves three of the world’s most significant global health organisations; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (“the Global Fund”), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (“Gavi”) and UNITAID. We promote a greater understanding of the three organisations and aim to mobilise political and financial support in the Pacific region. Our mission is to increase the profile of the three organisations, increase understanding of their distinct and complementary roles in the global health response, showcase synergies between the organisations, raise awareness of the global health issues in the context of the Pacific region and engage with key leaders and decision makers in the government, the media, private sector, academia, civil society organisations, including communities and foundations, in Australia and in due course, in New Zealand.
