At the international donation marathon for vaccines and treatments for the lung disease Covid-19, new aid commitments totaling 6.15 billion euros were collected. The EU Commission and Germany alone committed almost 5.3 billion euros to a virtual donor conference on Saturday. Other large donations came from the United States and Canada.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of an incredible result. Von Leyen said that the money should be used to support particularly vulnerable countries. Everyone in the world must have access to tests, treatments and vaccines – no matter where they live, where they come from or what they look like.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel specifically promised an additional EUR 383 million at the conference, while von Leyen announced another EUR 4.9 billion in EU funds. “I firmly believe that vaccines, tests and medication must be available, affordable and accessible worldwide,” said Merkel.
On May 4, Germany had already promised to contribute 525 million euros to the CEPI vaccine alliance, the GAVI global vaccine alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and various product development partnerships. In total, the donation marathon had raised almost ten billion euros before the conference on Saturday. The funds now promised by the EU Commission are to flow as loans and guarantees.
Von der Leyen organized the donor conference together with the New York non-governmental organization Global Citizen. In the end there should be a big online concert with artists like Miley Cyrus, Shakira and Justin Bieber in the evening.
Those: Apa / Ag.
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