Australia Commits $50 Million to Global Pandemic Fund

A woman receives the AstraZeneca COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine at a makeshift mass vaccination clinic in Denpasar on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on July 6, 2021. (Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP via Getty Images)

Australia has pledged $50 million (US$33.4 million) to the new Pandemic Fund, a new global fund launched by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Bali on Nov. 13.

The Pandemic Fund, hosted by the World Bank, is the result of global lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, designed to improve preparedness capabilities for future pandemic threats in developing countries.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed Indonesia’s leadership in establishing the fund.

“There is a clear consensus that the world needs to be better prepared to respond to future events—shared global finance is a big part of that,” he said.

Twenty-four donors have already committed a total of US$1.4 billion to the fund. Widodo encouraged all donors to give additional support to other global health initiatives, such as establishing a health emergency coordination platform.

“The establishment of the Pandemic Fund and the early commitment of contributions was the first crucial step. However, we still have a lot of work to do to make sure the fund would achieve its goals,” the president said at the launching ceremony.

However, according to a study by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank, the world needs US$31.1 billion ($46.5 billion) in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) funding (pdf).

Fund to Strengthen Global Surveillance and Reporting Systems

Chatib Basri, the co-Chair of the Pandemic Fund governing board, said this was the first time the international community collaborated on a PPR funding mechanism for low- and middle-income countries.

“Every dollar we mobilize to invest in PPR now in low- and middle-income countries will save lives and financial costs and lead to a more resilient world for years to come,” he said.

Priya Basu, the executive head of the Pandemic Fund secretariat, said they were focused on coordination among partners and maintaining high standards of transparency and accountability.

“[The Fund’s] inclusive governance balances representation from contributors and co-investors and provides a strong voice for civil society,” she said.

“We’ve built flexibility to deliver support to countries through a variety of existing institutions engaged in international financing of PPR, complementing their work and what countries themselves are doing.”

Federal Minister for Health Mark Butler said the fund will “go a long way to strengthening global surveillance and reporting systems.”

However, psychiatrist and medical ethicist Dr. Aaron Kheriaty previously told EpochTV’s American Thought Leaders program that under the guise of protecting public health, the pandemic saw “unprecedented” intrusions on individual privacy and bodily autonomy.

“I think this biomedical security state apparatus that has been put in place during the pandemic will remain in place and will be redeployed for other purposes,” he said. “A good example to wrap your head around this is the idea of the vaccine passport.”

Australia has already committed $838 million in support for regional and global vaccine access.