ISLAMABAD: The Governing Board of Pandemic Fund has approved a grant of $500 million for its second round of funding to help low- and middle-income countries scale up efforts to better prepare for future pandemics.

The World Bank that hosts the fund, according to a press release, invited the interested eligible countries, regional entities and implementing entities to submit proposals through an online portal starting in late February through May 17, 2024.

The Pandemic Fund, a collaborative partnership among donor countries, co-investors, foundations and civil society organisations, and hos­ted by the World Bank with World Health Organisation as technical lead, finances critical investments to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities at national, regional, and global levels, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries.

Pakistan is among the nine countries who are sovereign co-investors in the Pandemic Fund Governing Board which receives funding. The board also consists of nine sovereign contributing countries.

Pakistan among nine states that receive grants from Pandemic Fund

In recognition of the high demand for funding under the first Call — considered a pilot Call — the second Call for Proposals will have a larger funding envelope and will again prioritise high-impact investments at national and regional level in early warning and disease surveillance systems, laboratory systems, and strengthening human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

Particular attention will be paid to community and civil society engagement, gender equity, and other broader equity considerations as cross-cutting areas of focus in proposal development and implementation.

The Pandemic Fund — a multi-sta­­­keholder partnership — provid­es a dedicated stream of additional, long-term grant financing to stren­gthen critical pandemic prevention, preparedness, and resp­on­­se (PPR) capacities and capabilities in low- and middle-income countries.

It has mobilised $2 billion to date from 24 sovereign contributors and three philanthropies. The fund is a collaborative effort between governments, the World Bank, WHO, other UN agencies, multilateral development banks (MDBs), global health initiatives, philanthropies, and civil society organisations.

The fund’s governance is inclusive, with balanced representation from the Global North and the Global South, and with governments, philanthropies, and civil society organizations as voting members.

“What the Pandemic Fund achie­ved in its first year is truly impressive, but we must not slow down — this is exactly the moment to scale up efforts with even more determination. The $500m envelope for the second Call will certainly make a noticeable impact, but we cannot lose sight of long-term financing needs,” said Pandemic Fund Board co-chairs, Dr Chatib Basri, former Indonesian finance minister, and Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, Minister for Health in Rwanda.

“We saw from the first Call that there is a tremendous need. Despite multiple overlapping crises that countries face, pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response remains a key priority around the world,” they said.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2023