“President Biden and I believe that a well-resourced Pandemic Fund will enable us to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics,” Yellen was quoted as saying in a statement during an event in Rio de Janeiro ahead of a meeting of G20 finance ministers.
The amount announced by Yellen represents, according to the United States, one third of the $2 billion resource mobilization target for this fund launched in 2022 by the World Bank with the support of the G20 countries.
Its objective is to learn lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic that shook the world and to finance investments in prevention, preparation and response capacities in the face of possible new pandemics.
The announcement of funding to sustain the pandemic prevention fund until 2026 depends, however, on the green light from Congress and the “availability” of this funding, Washington said, less than four months before the US presidential elections.
The U.S. Treasury Department also called on all donors already committed to this prevention fund to double their initial pledges and has requested support from new partners, including governments, the private sector, philanthropists and civil society.
