The fund has raised more than US$ 242 million from more than 661 000 individuals, corporations, and other organizations to support WHO and partners’ global COVID-19 response.
The fund helps WHO to deploy lifesaving supplies, information and research to countries across the globe.
An additional US$ 1.96 billion is needed for WHO in 2021 to continue coordinating global pandemic response, more than 60% will go towards requirements for the Access to COVID-19 tools, including diagnostics, treatments and vaccines.
One year ago WHO created the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund to respond to the unprecedented show of support by individuals and companies to help WHO in the fight against COVID-19. Powered by the UN Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, it was developed as an innovative platform to enable private companies, individuals and other organizations to contribute directly to WHO’s efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to COVID-19 around the world.
The fund’s first year has seen unprecedented solidarity: to date, more than 661 000 donors have contributed nearly US$ 250 million. The funds have be used to provide millions of frontline workers with critical personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and testing kits; to manage misinformation and the infodemic; support vulnerable populations like refugees and displaced persons; and helped accelerate the research on vaccines, tests, and treatments.
“I sincerely thank every individual, corporation and other organization for their donations to the Solidarity Response Fund,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Your generosity has made a difference. On the fund’s one-year anniversary, we have seen what we can accomplish together in times of need”.
The Solidarity Response Fund has been a critical source of funding for the WHO’s overall response. Since the beginning of the pandemic, WHO has shipped nearly 250 million items of personal protective equipment and vital medical supplies including oxygen across more than 150 countries, strengthened hundreds of national and subnational laboratories with technical support, supplied more than 250 million COVID-19 tests; coordinated the deployment of more than 180 teams across the world; and supported more than 12 000 intensive care beds in health systems that might otherwise have been overwhelmed.
Despite this progress, current trends show that the fight is far from over. That’s why today the fund launches a renewed call for action for funds to contribute to the estimated US$ 1.96 billion required by WHO in 2021 to respond to remaining and new challenges in the fight against COVID-19.
Contributions to the next phase of the fund will support the efforts of WHO and its partners to continue to suppress transmission, reduce exposure, counter misinformation, protect the vulnerable, reduce mortality and morbidity and accelerate equitable access to new COVID-19 tools – including through WHO’s work with the ACT-Accelerator, to scale up vaccination globally, particularly for the most vulnerable countries, and ensure the delivery of life-saving supplies.
The recently launched WHO Foundation will lead the next phase of the Solidarity Response Fund to support the continuing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, working in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation and a global network of fiduciary partners.
“The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund galvanized an astonishing outpouring of global generosity beyond anything we have seen before. We put all the resources of the UN Foundation behind this task and were overwhelmed by the global response that enabled us to get critical funds to the most urgent needs in the devastating first year of the pandemic. The Solidarity Response Fund is a true testament to the power of collective action, and what can be achieved when people from every sector and every corner of the world act together to respond to overcome a collective threat,” said Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the UN Foundation.
Launched in May 2020, the WHO Foundation is an independent grant-making organization that supports WHO’s efforts to address urgent global health challenges.
“COVID-19 has affected all of us. Every country. Every company. Every community. It was inspiring to see the world rally behind the WHO last year in the form of hundreds of thousands of contributions to its Solidarity Response Fund. That money was put to good use and saved countless lives," said Anil Soni, CEO of the WHO Foundation. "I am committed to maintaining the success of the Fund as a vehicle for individuals and corporations to power the global fight against COVID-19. This pandemic won't be over anywhere until it's over everywhere, and donations to the Solidarity Response Fund help move the world towards that goal.”
The COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), and accompanying guidelines, issued in February 2021, fully articulates the basis for WHO’s appeal. The document guides coordinated action that WHO must take at national, regional, and global levels to overcome the ongoing challenges in the response to COVID-19, address inequities, and plot a course beyond the pandemic.
“We have achieved so much over the past year. Unfortunately, the pandemic is far from over and we can’t give up the fight yet. We thank you for your contributions and seek your continued support to beat COVID-19.” added Dr Tedros.
About the Solidarity Response Fund
The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, powered by the WHO Foundation in collaboration with UNF and a global network of partners is the major way for individuals, corporations, foundations, and other organizations around the world to directly support the work of WHO and its partners to help countries prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially where needs are greatest.
About the WHO Foundation
The WHO Foundation is an independent grant-making foundation based in Geneva that sets out to protect the health and well-being of everyone in every part of the world, working alongside the World Health Organization and the global health community. It aims to support donors, scientists, experts, implementing partners, and advocates around the world in rapidly finding new and better solutions to the most pressing global health challenges of today and tomorrow. The Foundation will target evidence-based initiatives that support WHO in delivering Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all). It is focused on reducing health risks, averting pandemics, better managing diseases, and creating stronger health systems. It tackles these areas by building awareness and supporting its partners, including WHO, so that every life is invested in and the world is ready for any health emergency that may arise.
About the United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation is an independent charitable organization created to be a strategic partner for the United Nations to address humanity’s greatest challenges, build initiatives across sectors to solve problems at scale, and drive global progress.
About WHO
The World Health Organization provides global leadership in public health within the United Nations system. Founded in 1948, WHO works with 194 Member States, across six regions and from more than 150 offices, to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. Our goal for 2019-2023 is to ensure that a billion more people have universal health coverage, to protect a billion more people from health emergencies, and provide a further billion people with better health and wellbeing.