AMBASSADOR THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Good afternoon and welcome, everyone, to the minister today on the Global Action Plan for COVID-19. Unfortunately, as some of you may know, Secretary Blinken’s father passed away, so he cannot join us today. He really wanted to be here, and he is sending his best. And I know that we all send him our best and our condolences during his time of grief. I am honored to represent the United States today in his place.
To our co-host, Foreign Minister Albares Bueno; Foreign Minister Kwape; and Foreign Minister Momen, thank you for your partnership. To everyone joining us today, thank you for your continued dedication to ending the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and thank you for working to strengthen our global health systems so that we can prevent, detect and respond better for future health threats.
Since we launched the Global Action Plan seven months ago, we have made significant progress towards our goals. Consider vaccinations: Last September, only 13 percent of people in lower middle-income countries were vaccinated against COVID-19. Today, that number has more than quadrupled to 56 percent. For our part, the United States has provided more than 620 million doses of vaccine to 116 countries and economies, all with no strings attached. So many of you have helped contribute to the vaccination efforts too, but we still have more work to do to address the global vaccination equity gap and protect people at risk of serious illness .
To close that gap, this pandemic taught the importance of expanding access to critical medical supplies. We need to move COVID-19 care from being offered primarily in emergency facilities. That care should be integrated into normal services. That will make vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics more accessible. Likewise, we must close gaps in our global health infrastructure.
Today, I am proud to announce three new initiatives that will help us close that gap and do more – make care fairer around the world. First, I am pleased to announce today that USAID with the Global Fund and other partners will launch test-to-treat pilot programs in ten countries.
These programs will help people get screened for COVID-19 when they have symptoms and receive antiviral medications if they test positive. These programs will also help people avoid serious illness, reduce hospital admissions, and save lives. USAID will work with governments, public health experts, and civil society to make this happen. As we implement these programmes, we will track lessons learned with our overseas partners. And we will share these lessons with countries around the world, including our providers in the United States.
Second, we improve access to medical oxygen. Medical oxygen is essential for treating patients with severe COVID-19, and will help prepare for future health emergencies. Since the pandemic began, oxygen supplies have been strained around the world. And even before the pandemic, only about half – half – of inpatient facilities in Africa had reliable access to medical oxygen.
The United States has committed $50 million to address this problem. That includes buying oxygen, installing storage tanks, and upgrading the physical infrastructure for providing oxygen, such as the pipes that bring it to the patients’ bedsides. We also help lower the cost of oxygen for governments across Africa, where prices can be ten times higher than in the US. We are starting with nine governments, supporting their discussions with the private sector to develop market-based approaches. Increasing access to affordable oxygen will also support other global health programs such as those addressing childhood and adult pneumonia, safe birth, safe surgery, and emerging infectious disease outbreaks.
Third and finally, we are establishing an action group to improve global health access to medical supplies and services through a global clearing mechanism. Our hope is to make supply chains more resilient, efficient and fair. And we’ve seen throughout this pandemic that access to these essential supplies can mean the difference between life and death.
So, together with our GAP partners, the public sector, and the private sector, we will establish a new platform. This platform will bring together countries, medical supply manufacturers, critical component producers, and major procurement agencies. Our aim will be clear: to match surplus supplies with those who need them when they need them. We plan to launch this platform next year, and we hope that other countries will join us. These efforts are just the latest ways to fight COVID-19 and build more resilient global health systems. So let’s continue to work together and let’s do everything we can to make the world safer, to make the world healthier, and free from pandemics for everyone. Thank you very much.
