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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Thursday announced a funding commitment to provide an additional $250 million to accelerate development and equitable distribution of COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines as part of global efforts to end the coronavirus pandemic.

The Foundation made its announcement a day after the People's Vaccine Alliance – a network of organisations, including Amnesty International, Oxfam and Global Justice Now – warned that rich countries were hoarding COVID-19 vaccines and leaving developing countries behind. The Gates Foundation called for global commitments to make the medical innovations and scientific breakthroughs of 2020 to be available in 2021 to everyone who needs them.  

"Everyone, everywhere deserves to benefit from the science developed in 2020," said Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. "We are confident that the world will get better in 2021, but whether it gets better for everyone depends on the actions of the world's leaders and their commitment to deliver tests, treatments, and vaccines to the people who need them, no matter where they live or how much money they have."

Today's commitment – the Gates Foundation's largest single contribution to COVID-19 response to date – brings the Foundation's total commitments to the global pandemic response to $1.75 billion. The new funding will support continued development of new COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and drugs and ensure equitable, timely, and scaled delivery of these products, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, according to a statement by the Foundation.

"Thanks to the ingenuity of the global scientific community, we are achieving the exciting medical breakthroughs needed to end the pandemic," said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation. "We have new drugs and more potential vaccines than we could have expected at the start of the year. But these innovations will only save lives if they get out into the world."

The Foundation highlighted the enormous global logistical challenges that countries now have to address on as COVID-19 vaccines have started becoming available. Getting life-saving tools to where they are needed will require the same level of planning, urgency, and collaboration it took to develop them, the Seattle, Washington-based organisation said.

Part of its new funding will enable countries to use cutting-edge technology and delivery systems to plan and implement the rollout of vaccines. It will also support efforts to increase trust and improve communication about new COVID-19 interventions.

The Foundation’s previous funding commitments included $47.5 million to strengthen regional responses in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia; up to $300 million in forgivable loans to support the manufacturing of up to 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries; and up to $250 million in guarantees to help make affordable diagnostics available in low- and middle-income countries.

"The next phase of fighting this pandemic will be much costlier than the initial development of safe and effective vaccines,” said Mark Suzman, the Gates Foundation CEO. “Our commitment today is only a fraction of what is needed and will be focused on the areas where philanthropy can best add value."