The World Bank is creating an epidemic prevention fund

The World Bank’s Board of Directors recently approved the establishment of a fund to finance investments to help low- and middle-income countries build their capacity to deal with pandemics.

The Financial Interim Fund (FIF) will provide additional resources dedicated to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) and encourage countries to increase investments, the Washington-based organization said in a statement. .

The source said the FIF will complement the financial and technical support provided by the World Bank, leverage WHO’s strong technical expertise and attract other key institutions.

Led by the United States, Italy and Indonesia under their G20 leadership, financial commitments of more than $1 billion have already been announced for the IFF, including contributions from the United States, the European Union, Indonesia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. , Singapore, the Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust, the World Bank said.

“I am pleased with the broad support of our stakeholders for the new FIFs at the World Bank,” said David Malpass, President of the Bretton Woods Institutional Group.

“The World Bank is the largest provider of funding for PPR in more than 100 developing countries to strengthen their health systems. FIF will provide additional long-term funding to complement the work of existing institutions by helping low- and middle-income countries. Countries and regions must prepare for the next pandemic,” he said.

“Funding for pandemic prevention and preparedness is critical. Covid-19 has revealed significant gaps in preparedness capabilities that FIF can fill in a coherent way, within the framework of architecting preparedness and responding to health emergencies,” it announced. His part, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was quoted in the press release.

Dr. WHO will play an important role under this fund. Ghebreyesus confirmed that it will provide technical leadership for its work in close collaboration with the World Bank “to realize this ambitious vision”.