An attempt will be made to supply approximately 1 billion tests before September 2022. Furthermore, one of the drugs being considered is Molnupiravir, distributed by Merck & Co.
The WHO-led program will attempt to ensure that people in the poorest countries have access , for around ten dollars, to antiviral drugs, vaccines, and COVID-19 tests , primarily for those with mild symptoms . The World Health Organization (WHO) will try to address the imbalance between industrialized and developing countries regarding access to COVID-19 treatments by supplying drugs and tests at a relatively low price and striving to protect as many people as possible from the virus .
According to an internal document from the organization, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) will attempt to supply approximately 1 billion tests to developing countries by September 2022. It will also purchase medications to treat around 120 million patients.
The WHO estimates that SARS-CoV-2 will cause approximately 200 million new infections in developing countries over the next twelve months . For this reason, it is trying to prevent conditions that would allow the coronavirus to continue mutating and trigger new outbreaks that could even threaten countries that have already been vaccinated.
Furthermore, the organization is trying to respond to the health situation in developing countries , which have few vaccines or treatments, because "wealthier countries have hoarded" these types of drugs to prioritize treating their own populations . From the beginning of the pandemic, the WHO has warned that the battle against the virus "will be won by all of us."
The final document has not yet been published, but a spokesperson indicated that once completed, it will be sent to world leaders attending the next G20 meeting, which will take place at the end of October in Rome, Italy. The goal is for donor countries to finance approximately $22.8 billion in pharmaceuticals over the next twelve months.
According to the WHO, industrialized countries have already pledged some $18.5 billion to purchase and distribute vaccines or treatments in the poorest countries . One of the drugs being considered is Molnupiravir, distributed by Merck & Co., which has already shown positive results in late-stage trials.
While industrialized countries have achieved very high vaccination rates, in some cases close to 90% of the population having received at least one dose, it is estimated that in the poorest countries only 1% of the population has been inoculated with the vaccine, around 12.7% of the population in the case of middle-income countries.