Thread by @WHO

6th @ACTAccelerator Facilitation Council meeting is taking place today at 12:30 CET.

📺 Live here 👇 bit.ly/3tOTPRv

#ACTogether

"More than 157 million #COVID19 cases have now been reported to WHO, and more than 3.2 million people have lost their lives. Those numbers are near double what they were at the beginning of this year"-@DrTedros at the 6th @ACTAccelerator Facilitation Council meeting

#ACTogether

"The shocking global disparity in access to vaccines & other #COVID19 tools remains one of the biggest risks to ending the pandemic. High- & upper-middle income countries represent 53% of the world’s population, but have received 83% of the world’s vaccines"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

"In contrast, low- and lower-middle income countries account for 47% of the world’s population but have received just 17% of the world’s #COVID19 vaccines"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1392428844733321220?s=20

"Low-income countries are testing at rates up to 100 times lower than in high-income countries.

Many low- and middle-income countries are also experiencing devastating shortages of oxygen"-@DrTedros #COVID19 #ACTogether

"We have the tools to help end the #COVID19 pandemic. But that can only happen with equitable access"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

"We now have an opportunity to fix the 🌍 imbalance in access to vaccines and other essential tools, in 3 essential ways:
1. we need to close the $19B funding gap for the @ACTAccelerator, to provide the funds needed for vaccines, diagnostics & therapeutics"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

"2. we need countries to donate vaccines to #COVAX immediately. We welcome announcements on dose sharing from France, Sweden, New Zealand, Spain and the United States"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1392429571681800194?s=20

"3. we need to pull out all the stops to increase [#COVID19 vaccine] production. That includes voluntary licensing, sharing technology and know-how, and waiving intellectual property rights"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1392429571681800194?s=20

"We appreciate the recent announcement by the United States that it will support IP waiver negotiations at the @wto.
The political winds seem to be shifting our way, but we have to translate that into concrete commitments and action"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

"This Facilitation Council Meeting will focus on two key issues:
-How we can step up production to increase the supply of vaccines
-How the @ACTAccelerator’s Health Systems Connector can support country responses to increase the uptake of #COVID19 tools"-@DrTedros #ACTogether

Don't miss - also speaking:
-@SKyriakidesEU, Commissioner for Health & Food Safety, @EU_Commission
-@DrZweliMkhize, 🇿🇦 Minister of Health
-@dagiulstein, 🇳🇴 Minister of Intl Development

#ACTogether

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1392424086140227585?s=20

Also speaking:
-Dr Amadou Sall, Director, @institutpasteur, Senegal
-Dr Patrick Soon Shiong, Chairman of the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, CEO & Chairman @ImmunityBio & @NantHealth
-Dr @NOIweala, Director-General @wto

#ACTogether

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1392424086140227585?s=20