COVAX Facility

Gavi is co-leading COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. This involves coordinating the COVAX Facility, a global risk-sharing mechanism for pooled procurement and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

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What is COVAX?

COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator

The ACT Accelerator is a ground-breaking global collaboration to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.

COVAX is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi and the World Health Organization (WHO), alongside key delivery partner UNICEF. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

For any enquiries about the COVAX Facility, please contact covax@gavi.org.

COVAX in humanitarian settings

COVAX has supplied nearly half of the vaccines administered by governments in humanitarian settings and, along with the UN’s Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), set up the Humanitarian Buffer to address the hardest-to-fill gaps in fragile and conflict contexts.

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COVAX Facility Governance

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is the legal administrator of the COVAX Facility, and has overseen the establishment of the COVAX Facility Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Engagement Group - a governance body comprising economies that are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines through the Gavi COVAX AMC - and the COVAX Facility Shareholders Council - composed of self-financing participants.

COVAX Facility AMC Engagement Group

Mandate: Established by the Gavi Board to convene representatives from implementing countries, donors and other parties engaged in the financing and operation of the AMC portion of the Facility, with the aim of providing strategic guidance and advice to the Office of the COVAX Facility on the operational aspects of the COVAX Facility.

Membership: Open to all implementing countries, donors, other partners engaged in financing and operations of the AMC portion of the Facility. A representative from each of WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and Civil Society has a permanent observer seat.

Meeting minutes

• 2021: 27 January | 17 March | 17 May | 12 July | 12 October | 6 December

• 2022: 15 March | 8 June | 28 September

Co-Chairs

COVAX FACILITY SHAREHOLDERS COUNCIL

Mandate: Established by the Gavi Board to convene Self-Financing Participants (SFPs) of the COVAX Facility with the aim of providing strategic guidance and advice to the Office of the COVAX Facility on the operational aspects of the COVAX Facility. It receives regular updates from the Office of the COVAX Facility, including reports on allocation decisions and overall activities, and decisions or recommendations made by technical bodies (MSDC, Independent Product Group, Procurement Reference Group and Independent Allocation Validation Group) and the Board.

Membership: Open to all SFPs. A representative from each of WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, Civil Society and the AMC92 Group has a permanent observer seat.

Meeting minutes

• 2021: 28 January | 18 March | 18 May | 14 July | 14 October | 8 December
• 2022: 16 March | 31 May

Co-Chairs

Why we need COVAX

Developing a vaccine against COVID-19 is the most pressing challenge of our time - and nobody wins the race until everyone wins.

The global pandemic has already caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and disrupted the lives of billions more. As well as reducing the tragic loss of life and helping to get the pandemic under control, introduction of a vaccine will prevent the loss of US$ 375 billion to the global economy every month. Global equitable access to a vaccine, particularly protecting health care workers and those most-at-risk is the only way to mitigate the public health and economic impact of the pandemic.

Gavi's role in COVAX

• COVAX Facility

Gavi is coordinating the development and implementation of the COVAX Facility, the global procurement mechanism of COVAX. The COVAX Facility will make investments across a broad portfolio of promising vaccine candidates (including those being supported by CEPI) to make sure at-risk investment in manufacturing happens now. This means the COVAX Facility, by pooling purchasing power from all countries that participate, will have rapid access to doses of safe and effective vaccines as soon as they receive regulatory approval. Guided by an allocation framework being developed by WHO, the COVAX Facility will then equitably distribute these doses to help protect the most at-risk groups in all participating countries.

• COVAX AMC

Gavi is coordinating the development and implementation of the COVAX AMC, the financing instrument that will support the participation of 92 lower-middle and low-income economies in the COVAX Facility. The COVAX AMC is critical to ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of income level – and requires an urgent investment of US$ 2 billion, from sovereign donors, philanthropies and the private sector, by the end of 2020. The COVAX AMC and associated support to the eligible countries that apply will build on Gavi’s two decades of experience delivering life-saving vaccines to more than half of the world’s population, including in the hardest to reach communities.

• Country readiness & delivery

Gavi is working with Alliance partners UNICEF and WHO to ensure that the infrastructure is in place, and the technical support available, to make sure COVID-19 vaccines can be safely delivered to all those who need them. Gavi is also part of the health systems work of the ACT-Accelerator effort, focusing on areas where it has expertise and experience, such as cold chain.

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