VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The EU, together with WHO and other partners, hosted an international pledging conference on 4 May 2020 raising €7.4 billion Euro in only a few hours, as initial funding to kick-start a global research cooperation. The aim is to gather significant funding to ensure the collaborative development and universal deployment of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines against coronavirus. The pledging continues until the end of May, and funds collected will be channelled into three strands: diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge and requires a global response. This initiative is part of a multilateral response to the COVID-19 crisis and follows up on a commitment made by EU leaders at the G20 and G7 meetings. European comission President Ursula von der leyen said that the world is coming together to defeat the virus.

"The 4th of May 2020 mark turning point in our fight againts the corona virus. Because the world is coming together, government from every continents joint hands and team up with global health organization and other experience partners. The partners are many the goal is one to defeat this virus" Von Der Leyen said. 

In parallel, the EU has already committed over €380 million in research and innovation measures to develop vaccines, new treatments, diagnostic tests and medical systems to prevent the spread of the virus.On the occasion the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres stated that UN is pleased working together with EU and other states to A universal and affordable Access to COVID-19 Tools or ACT-Accelerator.

"I was very happy to join the the world health organization and the initial groups of other sectors to launch the ACT accelerated. A landmark of global cooperation to speed up the development of vaccines and equitable acces to the new covid 19 diagnostic, treatments and vaccine" Antonio Guterres said. 

The pledging event was co-convened by the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy (also incoming G20 presidency), Japan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (also holding the G20 presidency), Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom. The initiative is a response to the callfrom the World Health Organization (WHO) and a group of health actors for a global collaboration for the accelerated development, production and equitable global access to new coronavirus essential health technologies. The Coronavirus Global Response Initiative is comprised of three partnerships for testing, treating and preventing underpinned by health systems strengthening//NK