COVAX Facility

The global pooled procurement and distribution mechanism at the heart of COVAX.

Learn more

What was the COVAX Facility?

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

Coordinated and administered by Gavi, the COVAX Facility was responsible for global procurement and delivery at scale for COVAX – managing the end-to-end effort including relationships with the 195 countries and territories that signed on as participants and/or donors. COVAX Facility participants had access to the largest and most diverse portfolio of COVID-19 vaccines in the world, through COVAX purchase agreements and dose donations.

High- and upper middle-income countries self-financed participation in the Facility, while 92 lower-income countries were eligible to receive free doses and support thanks to more than US$ 12 billion in donor funding for the Gavi COVAX AMC. Nearly 90% of the nearly 2 billion doses provided through the Facility went to lower-income economies.

 

Latest COVAX news

Novavax and Gavi Reach Settlement on 2021 COVID-19 Vaccine Advance Purchase Agreement

Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) today announced they have reached a settlement related to the 2021 Advance Purchase Agreement (APA) for Novavax’s prototype COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373). This agreement brings…

COVID-19 vaccinations shift to regular immunisation as COVAX draws to a close

COVAX will close 31 December 2023 having delivered nearly 2 billion doses of vaccines to 146 economies, and averted an estimated 2.7 million deaths in AMC lower-income participating economies.

Gavi, Moderna update COVAX supply agreement; agree on access to variant-containing vaccines for lower-income countries

Gavi and Moderna agree to cancel remaining volumes under existing COVAX supply agreement.

Call for Applications: COVAX seeks experts for independent group on evidence-based vaccine decision-making

The COVAX Facility is seeking expressions of interest from the subject matter experts to join the COVAX Independent Product Group. The Independent Product Group (“IPG”) is established to provide scientific advice on COVID-19 vaccines and…

Gavi board responds to an uncertain world: fragile and conflict settings, future pandemics and the ongoing fight against COVID-19

Gavi’s Board Meeting emphasizes public health impact with renewed push for routine immunization and reaching zero-dose children.

COVAX calls for urgent action to close vaccine equity gap

COVAX has access to enough COVID-19 vaccines to help protect 70% of the population in 91 lower-income countries

DFC financing up to US$ 1 billion for Gavi COVID-19 vaccine and ancillary supply purchase and delivery

The White House today announced that US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance have partnered to create the COVAX Rapid Financing Facility, which will provide up to US$ 1 billion to accelerate COVID-19…

World leaders commit US$ 4.8 billion to help Break COVID Now

Summit sees US$ 4.8 billion in commitments, securing vital cash to help lower income countries boost vaccinations now, secure equitable access for new vaccine procurements plus additional help for countries looking to procure their own vaccines…

Credit: UNICEF/UN0136204/LeMoyne

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.

Learn more

 

Gavi Board

Gavi was the legal administrator of the COVAX Facility, and overall Facility governance was overseen by the Gavi Board. The Gavi Board continues to have oversight over the Gavi COVAX AMC which still exists despite the closure of the COVAX Facility.

Gavi’s 26-member Board consists of a broad range of actors including WHO, UNICEF, civil society, industry academia, and sovereign governments, split equally between Gavi implementing and donor countries. It is responsible for strategic direction and policy-making, oversees the operations of the Vaccine Alliance and monitors programme implementation.

COVAX Facility AMC Engagement Group (AEG)

Membership: The AEG was open to all Gavi COVAX AMC implementing countries, donors, other partners engaged in financing and operations of the AMC portion of the Facility. A representative each from WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, and civil society had a permanent observer seat.

Mandate: The AEG was established in 2020 to provide strategic guidance and advice to the Office of the COVAX Facility on the operational aspects of the COVAX Facility. It received regular updates from the Office of the COVAX Facility, including reports on overall activities, and decisions or recommendations made by COVAX technical bodies and the Gavi Board.

Meeting minutes

Co-Chairs

 

Harjit Sajjan
Minister of International Development, Canada

 

 

Retno L.P. Marsudi
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Indonesia

 

 

Lia Tadesse
Minister of Health, Ethiopia

COVAX Facility Shareholders Council (SHC)

Membership: The SHC was open to all self-financing participants (SFPs) of the COVAX Facility. A representative from the AMC Engagement Group and a representative each from WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, civil society and had a permanent observer seat.

Mandate: The SHC was established in 2020 to provide strategic guidance and advice to the Office of the COVAX Facility on the operational aspects of the COVAX Facility. It received regular updates from the Office of the COVAX Facility, including reports on overall activities, and decisions or recommendations made by COVAX technical bodies and the Gavi Board.

Meeting minutes

Co-Chairs

 

Dr Chrysoula Zacharopoulou
Minister of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, France

 
 

Dr. Fernando Ruiz
Minister of Health, Colombia

What COVAX achieved

Vial >1.8 billion free doses and safe-injection devices
Pandemic >2.7 million deaths averted
Delivery >50% of vaccine supply in most lower-income economies
Economie >US$ 12 billion raised
Population 87 AMC lower-income economies received COVAX-supplied doses

Office of the COVAX Facility

The Office of the COVAX Facility was hosted by the Gavi Secretariat. It coordinated the end-to-end work of COVAX across partners, participants and donors to secure access to, allocate and distribute COVID-19 vaccines in line with WHO policy recommendations.

2022–2023
Dr Derrick Sim, former Managing Director, Office of the COVAX Facility, is currently Gavi’s Managing Director for Vaccine Markets & Health Security.

Biography | VaccinesWork

2020–2022
Aurelia Nguyen, former Managing Director, Office of the COVAX Facility, is currently Gavi’s Chief Programme Officer.

Biography | VaccinesWork

How to access COVID-19 vaccine support: information for lower-income economies

In 2024 and 2025, support for COVID-19 vaccination is provided through regular Gavi programmes.

Gavi Vaccine Funding Guidelines

Engaging stakeholders around the world

Find out how COVAX and the Facility coordinated and implemented workstreams, engaged with and shared information across hundreds of countries and partners, took decisions and managed governance through a crisis of unprecedented scale.

 

Key COVAX articles

View more

How did Kenya surpass its 2021 COVID-19 vaccination target?

Kenya was aiming to reach 10 million people with COVID-19 vaccines by the end of December 2021. Thanks to a clear strategy, COVAX support and the hard work of thousands of health workers, they reached their target.

We can stop the cycle of new variants continuing indefinitely with a pandemic vaccine pool

Without it we could face further delays in the global rollout and risk the gulf between the vaccine haves and have nots widening.

Breaking COVID's Grip

COVAX and the other international organizations committed to vaccine equity cannot end the COVID-19 pandemic without the continued support of governments, industry, and civil society. By working together, the world has a chance to tame the…

The impact of COVAX in Laos

Vaccination started off slow, but has steadily increased over 2021 thanks to public health messaging and vaccine deliveries.

12 Days of COVAX

All around the world, COVAX deliveries are helping to protect frontline health workers, reach nomadic communities, reunite families and allow schools to reopen. Since deliveries began in March, #VaccinesWork has been publishing snapshots that…

How the public came together to support COVID-19 vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable

People around the world have demonstrated global solidarity by donating to the COVAX Facility, providing vaccines to those who would otherwise have no access.

 

COVAX Facility and COVAX AMC document library

COVAX documents

COVAX data brief #27

Previous: #26 | #25 | #24 | #23 | #22 | #21 | #20 | #19 | #18 | #17 | #16 | #15 | #14 | #13 | #12 | #11 | #10 | #9 | #8 | #7 | #6 | #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1

COVAX data brief #26

Previous: #25 | #24 | #23 | #22 | #21 | #20 | #19 | #18 | #17 | #16 | #15 | #14 | #13 | #12 | #11 | #10 | #9 | #8 | #7 | #6 | #5 | #4 | #3 | #2 | #1

COVAX Facility Independent Product Group terms of reference

The Independent Product Group (“IPG”) is established to provide scientific advice on COVID-19 vaccines and make technical recommendations to the Office of the COVAX Facility on the inclusion of vaccines in the COVAX Facility, by regularly reviewing the COVAX Facility portfolio for balance and review updates on availability of vaccines and consider any implications for the COVAX Facility portfolio.

COVAX: key learnings for future pandemic preparedness and response

Drawing on COVAX’s unique experience enabling an unprecedented global rollout at scale during a pandemic, this paper outlines the key challenges the mechanism faced in seeking to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, the actions it took in response and recommendations for the future.

Explore COVAX

About COVAX

A historic multilateral effort co-led by Gavi, CEPI, WHO and UNICEF from 2020 through 2023, COVAX pushed to centre vaccine equity at the heart of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVAX will come to a close on 31 December 2023.

COVAX Facility

Managing the end-to-end coordination of COVAX, ensuring pooled procurement and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world.

Gavi COVAX AMC

The Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) ensured access to COVID-19 vaccines and support for lower-income countries.

COVAX in humanitarian settings

Addressing the most unpredictable and hard-to-fill gaps in access.

Last updated: 15 Jan 2024

Subscribe to our newsletter