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Solberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates met digitally on Tuesday to discuss the international work Norway is undertaking to raise money for development and production, and not least for fair distribution, of vaccines, testing and medications.
The so-called ACT-A collaboration has so far only received pledges of $ 10 billion from various countries and taxpayers, while the need is estimated at $ 38 billion. The Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation and Norway are major contributors to the collaboration.
ACT-A står to access the COVID-19 Tool Accelerator.
Solberg says it’s worrying that so much money is still lacking for work.
– It worries me, because it means that we are prolonging the economic crisis, Solberg tells NTB.
Fear of having to wait for Biden
Solberg says contributions are needed both from various philanthropists like Bill Gates, from the business community and from various countries.
– We talked about hoping to involve the United States more in this work. Both the Gates Foundation and many other organizations in the United States are working to involve President Donald Trump and Congress in this, but we may have to wait for Joe Biden to become president, says Solberg.
– Do you have more faith that Biden will contribute than Trump?
– Traditionally, Democrats have been more concerned with multilateral cooperation, although Republicans have previously been very concerned with it. But they’ve been a little less concerned about it in recent years, and it’s kind of sad, he says.
Fear delays
John-Arne Røttingen, who is responsible for Norway’s involvement in the international pandemic effort, says there will be long delays in vaccine work if funds are not secured.
“We have said that we need $ 4.5 billion by the end of the year to ensure the completion of development and the start of production of vaccines and tests and drugs,” he said.
For developing countries, efforts are being made to develop vaccines that can be stored at refrigerator temperature and that do not require freezing, as is required by the vaccine now administered in the UK.
Three vaccines that can withstand higher temperatures are now in the final phase of testing.
Røttingen says that vaccines that require deep freezing to -70 degrees are demanding in developing countries where lack of electricity is a major problem in many places.
– It is still true that one billion people in the world are connected to health establishments and clinics that do not have electricity, and then it is a challenge to obtain freezing capacity, he says.
Covers the poorest countries
On Tuesday, the first people were vaccinated in the UK. Røttingen says that people in the rest of the world, including developing countries, can expect to be vaccinated in the spring.
– We have managed to secure agreements in the Covax cooperation that cover 92 of the poorest countries in the world, he says.
Røttingen points out that in any case, it will take time to vaccinate everyone in every country, so there is also a great need for infection control tests, drugs and equipment in the next one to two years.
