Australia hails Indonesia's role in launching G20 Pandemic Fund

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- The Australian government praised Indonesia’s role in launching the G20’s Pandemic Fund, expressing its hope that the fund will improve future pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo launched the new global financial intermediary fund on Sunday, which has secured over US$1.4 billion in financial commitments to date.

“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,” Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

“I welcome the Indonesia G20 presidency’s leadership in establishing the Pandemic Fund and look forward to shaping future pandemic plans.”

The country has contributed 50 million Australian dollars to the Pandemic Fund, complementing the country’s 838 million Australian dollars to support regional and global vaccine access.

The fund provides a dedicated stream of additional, long-term financing to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response capabilities in low-and middle-income countries.

It is managed by the World Bank in partnership with the World Health Organisation to address critical gaps through investments and technical support at the national, regional, and global levels.

-- BERNAMA