Targets

Since April 2020, the ACT-Accelerator partnership has supported the fastest, most coordinated, and successful global effort in history to develop tools to fight a disease. The ACT-Accelerator has driven real progress, delivering diagnostic tests, personal protective equipment (PPE), treatments including medical oxygen, and vaccines.

But inequitable access to these COVID-19 tools is severely hindering the pandemic response in low- and middle-income countries and new variants of concern continue to emerge around the globe. There is still much more to be done to fight this virus. Only united and through a comprehensive approach of all these interventions and tools can we defeat COVID-19.

The ACT-Accelerator will need US$12.1 billion for the period of June to September 2022 to address crucial gaps in access to COVID-19 tools and to achieve the following targets:  

• Contribute towards reaching the global target of 70% vaccination coverage in all countries by mid-2022.
• Reach a minimum testing rate of at least 1 test per 1000 people per day in the 144 countries in the Diagnostics Consortium.
• Ensure 120 million COVID-19 patients in low- and middle-income countries have access to existing and emerging treatments, including medical oxygen.
• Keep 2.7 million health workers in low- and middle-income countries safe with personal protective equipment (PPE).

Diagnostics Pillar

Testing is the first line of defense against COVID-19. Without testing, we cannot track or contain the spread of the virus, address urgent clinical needs, test the efficacy of vaccination, and detect the emergence of new variants.

With the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), the Global Fund co-leads the Diagnostics Pillar. The Pillar has been significantly developing access to COVID-19 tests and sequencing in order to grow effective test, trace, isolate, and treat strategies and improve the early identification and containment of new variants.

The Global Fund is focused on the procurement of antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag RDTs) and molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, the strengthening of laboratory infrastructure and capacities, and significant requirements for training and technical assistance.

The Global Fund, together with Diagnostics and Therapeutics ACT-Accelerator partners, will be pioneering Test and Treat pilot projects, with the aim of linking testing to regular treatment regimes.

Find out more about the Diagnostics Pillar [ download in English ]

Find out more about the Global Fund's support for diagnostics

Therapeutics Pillar

With the challenges of an evolving pandemic and difficulty in large-scale uptake of vaccines, therapeutic treatments will remain critical in the COVID-19 response, saving lives and reducing the burden on health systems. Millions of new COVID-19 cases are expected over the next 18 months and limited access to oxygen to treat COVID-19 is a continuing emergency, demanding minimum oxygen needs of 5.4 million cubic meters in low- and middle-income countries every day.

The Global Fund is a co-leader of the Therapeutics Pillar, and a crucial partner in the COVID-19 Oxygen Emergency Taskforce, which brings together key organizations working on oxygen access under the Therapeutics Pillar to measure oxygen demand, work with financing partners, and secure oxygen supplies and technical support for affected countries.

The Therapeutics Pillar supports access to safe and effective treatments to save millions of lives from COVID-19 and minimize its global health and economic threat. This includes not only medical oxygen, but new antivirals and other proven treatments as part of pilot Test & Treat projects programed for the second half of 2022. ACT-Accelerator’s Therapeutics Pillar also works on strengthening research efforts to enrich the therapeutic clinical pipeline.

Find out more about the Global Fund's support for oxygen

Health Systems & Response Connector

Co-led by the World Bank, WHO and the Global Fund, the Health Systems & Response Connector ensures all countries have the necessary technical, operational and financial resources to translate new COVID-19 tools into national response interventions to stop transmission and save lives. This includes equipping health care workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to safely deliver essential health services.

Using its experience in resilient and sustainable systems for health and pandemic preparedness, the Global Fund has been boosting health systems hit by COVID-19 by procuring PPE, strengthening supply chains and supporting community-led responses.

Find out more about the need to protect health workers

Find out more about the health systems & response connector

ACT-Accelerator progress

As of June 2022

Detailed updates on the progress of all the ACT-Accelerator pillars appears in each quarterly report and in the two-year impact report. These are available on the dedicated ACT-Accelerator website in the Publications section.

Diagnostics Pillar Progress

Therapeutics Pillar Progress

Health Systems & Response Connector Progress

ACT-Accelerator Funding

(Source: ACT-A)

Total funds committed as of 28 June 2022: US$5.6 billion.

Total funding gap as of 28 June 2022: US$11.2 million.