Pacific countries are among 172 nations which are now pooling funds to pre-purchase Covid-19 vaccines still in development.
Photo: AFP
Known as the Covax Facility, the initiative aims to secure supplies and deliver two billion doses of any safe and approved vaccines to these countries by the end of 2021.
The facility supports 92 developing economies, including Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
The initiative is seen as an alternative to the actions of larger countries such as the United States, which are spending billions to pre-purchase vaccines for their citizens.
The World Health Organisation's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said vaccine nationalism only helped the coronavirus.
