PRESS RELEASE NUMBER 59/SP/TKMG20/11/2022
G20 COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA TEAM

Marves -Nusa Dua, November 13, 2022 – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo stated that the world needs funding support of up to US$31.1 billion annually to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics.This figure is based on a research conducted by the World Bank in early 2022.

“Pandemic should no longer claim many lives and destroy the global economy. Therefore, the G20 is preparing a strong health architecture through the Pandemic Fund,” said President Jokowi at the launch of the G20 Pandemic Fund online, Sunday, Nov. 13.

The Pandemic Fund, which was initiated by Indonesia and Italy as co-chairs, has managed to raise $1.4 billion. Around 17 member countries of the G20, non-G20 and three world philanthropists participated in this global funding.

The European Union and the United States contributed $450 million respectively, while Italy contributed $102 million and Indonesia contributed $50 million. Several other countries have stated their commitment to participate in this global health funding.

This funding is expected to be able to seal the gap experienced by developing and poor countries in facing future pandemic. Apart from the amount of the funds, it is also necessary  to pay attention to its sustainability in the medium term. Global digital network development and worldwide vaccine certification are also needed.

The US Minister of Finance Jannet Yellen said that pandemic funds would become a solution and an effort to accelerate anticipation in dealing with a pandemic. She expressed her hope that this funding will be able to maximize available funding, to provide more concrete results based on the conditions of a country.

“We believe other countries will also participate in this global funding,” said the Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati. This is the first measure to show the world that the pandemic has become a global concern, not just the G20 countries’.

This global funding is ready to be used starting next year, therefore all joint countries will formulate criteria for countries that are eligible to receive it, especially developing countries and poor countries.

World Bank Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburg explained that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused poverty, many children, especially girls to drop out of school, and a similar pandemic is very likely to happen again in the future.

Meanwhile, Co-chair of the Pandemic Fund Chatib Basri said that the pandemic has taught us that health problems do not only trigger spending, but also become opportunities for investment. He added that this is an important milestone because for the first time, international countries have jointly invested in strengthening the global health architecture in concrete steps.

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