Optimizing Pandemic Funds

Learning from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been present now for more than two years, the Indonesian Group of 20 Presidency inaugurated the Pandemic Funds to address the financing gap.

KOMPAS/DEONISIA ARLINTA

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati gave the opening remarks at the launch of the Pandemic Fund in Nusa Dua, Bali, Sunday (11/13/2022).

At present, the Pandemic Funds resulting from commitments from 24 donors -- both members of the G20, non-G20, as well as several philanthropic institutions -- have amounted to US$1.4 billion. It is hoped that the funds that will be managed by the World Bank will continue to increase due to the commitments of other parties.

The pandemic that has been going on since March 2020 has indeed provided an extraordinary lesson. Health systems, even in developed countries, are unprepared for large-scale emergencies. The capacity of basic health services, health facilities, human resources, diagnostic systems and the availability of laboratories is not sufficient when massive illness and mortality occurs.

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> Inclusivity Urged for Pandemic Fund Management

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Even though various efforts have been made, from limiting community activities, implementing health protocols, to mass vaccination, Covid-19 is not easy to defeat. As of Monday (14/11/2022), 640,386,940 people were infected with Covid-19 and 6,615,538 of them died.

Another cause that is no less important is inequality, both in terms of access to health services and infrastructure, especially in poor and developing countries.

IVAN DWI KURNIA PUTRA

Health workers prepare the Covid-19 vaccine before it is given to residents at Plaza Bintaro, South Tangerang, Tuesday (08/11/2022).

In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has built an emergency response system, for example by sending 250 million protective devices worldwide, strengthening hundreds of laboratories with technical support and fighting for vaccine justice and equity. However, the ease with which the virus mutates and circulates makes the increasing number of cases difficult to control.

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered the largest health, social and economic crisis in modern history, with an impact greater than that of World War II. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said global economic growth fell 4.4 percent, the worst fall since the Great Depression of the 1930s. As a result, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have stalled, 200 million people have lost their jobs according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) and no less than 100 million people are living in extreme poverty.

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> Pandemic Fund Officially Launched

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We are grateful that various strategies to overcome the pandemic have shown a bright way. Even though the number of positive cases is still up and down, the pandemic is starting to move toward an endemic. It is at this point that the world needs a partnership. Thus, the world is better prepared if forced to face similar threats. We pray that this pandemic will not happen again, but that an increasingly borderless world and wider human mobility could be the triggering factors.

In this regard, the Pandemic Funds have a unique and important role to play in making the world safer. By focusing on financing to develop prevention, preparedness and response capacities, we hope that more lives can be saved, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.