World Bank Approves FIF For Pandemic Preparation And Response

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The World Bank Board of Directors has approved the establishment of a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) which will finance the most important investment today, namely health, to strengthen pandemic PPR capacity at national, regional and global levels, with a focus on countries low and middle income.

"The fund will bring in additional resources dedicated to the pandemic, incentivize countries to increase investment in pandemic PPR, improve coordination among partners, and serve as a platform for health advocacy," said World Bank Group President David Malpass. in Jakarta, Saturday 2 July.

A committed contribution of more than US$1 billion has been secured for this FIF, which includes a contribution of US$50 million from Indonesia. Other committed contributions came from the United States, the European Union Commission, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, as well as donations from philanthropic organizations, the Wellcome Trust and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

"FIF will provide additional long-term funding to support low- and middle-income countries and regions to prepare for a pandemic if it occurs again in the future," continued David.

On a separate occasion representing Finance Deputy G20 Indonesia, Dian Lestari, Head of the Center for Climate Change and Multilateral Financing, the Indonesian Ministry of Finance invites parties who have not been involved to also contribute to FIF.

"We hope that other G20 and non-G20 members can commit to contributing funds to FIF and together invite other parties to also contribute to this important global initiative for health," said Dian.

FIF is expected to be formally launched and operational in September 2022. In the coming weeks, JFHTF, World Bank and WHO will work closely with FIF Donors and partners and other strategic stakeholders to develop the Governance Framework and Operations Manual of the FIF in a comprehensive manner. detailed.

"The G20 Presidency of Indonesia looks forward to the support and contributions of all relevant stakeholders in a joint effort to strengthen the global health architecture. We believe that through this work to establish FIF, we can show the world the value of multilateralism in terms of ensuring the world is better prepared to deal with a pandemic. in the future," concluded Dian.