Japan has announced to support an additional $800 million for the Covax facility so that developing countries get vaccines against Covid-19.
Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide at a virtual vaccine summit while announcing this additional funding explained that Japan has continuously supported the efforts by the COVAX Facility, including through its financial contribution amounting to $200 million.
Covax is a World Health Organisation led facility to ensure vaccines to all.
Bangladesh received 106,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine on May 31 under this COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) arrangement.
Japan, as one of the largest contributors to the COVAX Facility, welcomed the arrival of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine to Bangladesh.
“Japan will continue to cooperate with Bangladesh to suppress the spread of the COVID-19 and overcome this unprecedented crisis,” the embassy said.
Prime Minister Suga at the COVAX AMC Summit, organised by the Japanese government and Gavi, also expressed "Japan’s intention to provide, when circumstances allow and at an appropriate time, around 30 million doses of vaccines manufactured in Japan to other countries and regions, including through the COVAX Facility," the Japanese embassy in Dhaka said.
Gavi Board Chair José Manuel Barroso co-chaired the summit with the prime minister. Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu moderated the Summit.
This Summit was organised to raise additional funding to secure necessary vaccines for developing countries by the end of 2021, in order to ensure through the COVAX Facility equitable access to safe, effective and quality-assured vaccines thereby overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants in the Summit include leaders and ministers from about 40 countries including Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America, as well as António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General and other heads of international organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and representatives from the civil society and the private companies such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Prime Minister Suga called for further solidarity and commitments from the international community in the fight against COVID-19, and expressed Japan’s full support for ensuring equitable access to safe and effective vaccines for as many people as possible with a view to achieving Universal Health Coverage guided by the principle of human security.