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It is estimated that global leaders will gather this week for the Second Global COVID-19 Summit led by the ACT-Accelerator.
The Second Global COVID-19 Summit is scheduled for this week, led by the ACT-Accelerator will gather global leaders to assess crucial next steps in the global COVID-19 response. WHO has applauded the co-hosts of the session, where governments from across the globe will come together to make concrete commitments to vaccinate the world, save lives now, and build better health security.
According to the WHO data, the death toll associated with COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 was just under 15 million. As reported cases are falling globally, it is alluring to think that the critical situation is over, but it is still wrong. This session will allow leaders to write the closing chapters of the pandemic.
The organization has remarked on the importance of the leaders taking the chance to assess the funding and political will required to achieve global targets for COVID-19 vaccination coverage as well as the testing rates and access to treatments, which comprise oral antivirals and oxygen— the WHO considers that these are key objectives that will contribute to the end of the pandemic.
Once the parties agree on a global response, the economic fallout resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will be mitigated, as well as the supply disruptions that are contributing to inflation and slow growth across the globe. A definitive ending for the COVID-19 pandemic would allow experts to focus on reversing the lost progress against other diseases and getting routine immunization back on track.
"This is the moment to intensify efforts (...). This summit gives leaders the opportunity to write the closing chapters of the pandemic – an opportunity they cannot afford to miss" write @ACTAccelerator leaders in the lead-up to the Global #COVID19 Summit. https://t.co/EgN24meEFE
— FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics (@FINDdx) May 10, 2022
The WHO considers that the current context for ending the pandemic makes this work harder. As low-income countries test around five tests per day per 100 000 people, data has shown that testing rates worldwide are decreasing, which means we cannot keep track of this evolving virus.
Regardless of the hard work that has been made in lower-income countries on increasing coverage rates, there are still millions of unvaccinated and exposed, with only 15 percent of people vaccinated in those nations. The best way to save lives is to prioritize full coverage of at-risk groups according to the WHO goal of 70 percent coverage.
A plan was released by the ACT-Accelerator, offering a strategy and budget in October 2021 for assessing this inequity. According to the agency, they have made concrete progress on all fronts, but the partnership still faces a huge financing gap.
The ACT- Accelerator agency has called on the world leaders, the private sector, philanthropists, civil society, and other stakeholders to pronounce firm, substantive commitments intended to save lives, turn the tide, and secure the future for all.
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