A Call for a Global Summit to End the COVID-19 Pandemic

BROAD COALITION OF LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR GLOBAL SUMMIT TO END THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

September 1, 2021 – A coalition of 80 global leaders and over 25 organizations across corporate, philanthropic, civil society, advocacy, academic, and health sectors today called on world leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly this month to convene a global summit to ignite an urgent global action plan to end the pandemic.

In a statement being sent to President Joe Biden, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, and G20 leaders, the coalition called on world leaders to convene a global summit during this year’s United Nations General Assembly and commit to actions to make 7 billion doses of high-quality vaccines available before the end of 2021, and an additional 7 billion doses by mid-2022; ensure that every country is ready to implement equitable vaccination programs at scale by the end of this year; and to vaccinate 70 percent of the world’s population by mid-2022. People everywhere should also have equitable access to tests, therapies, and other proven interventions so lives can be saved using all COVID-19 tools.

The coalition includes former senior government officials, former heads of major multilateral organizations, public health experts, heads of major foundations, and other leaders in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Africa.

“We need a comprehensive response to the current crisis, which will also strengthen health systems and preparedness for the next pandemic. We are in a race against time. Without immediate action, there will be millions more infections and deaths, and new variants could emerge and pierce vaccine immunity,” the statement said.  

The call to action was coordinated by the COVID Collaborative, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Duke Global Health Innovation Center, Duke Global Health Institute, and the Pandemic Action Network. For more information.