BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) has announced to make two-fold its contribution to COVAX, an international programme devised to help low and middle-income countries to have more access to Covid-19 vaccines.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told the G7 leaders' virtual summit on Friday that the bloc was pledging an additional 500 million euros (about $606 million), bringing its contribution to the global initiative to one billion euros, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new pledge brings closer COVAX's target to deliver 1.3 billion doses for 92 low and middle-income countries by the end of 2021, the EU said in a statement. Europe is one of the leading contributors to COVAX with over 2.2 billion euros, including 900 million pledged by Germany on Friday.

"Last year, as part of our Coronavirus Global Response, we committed to ensuring universal access to vaccines everywhere on Earth, for everyone who would need them. COVAX is best placed to help us reach this goal," von der Leyen said. "We will only be safe if the whole world is safe." The contribution announced on Friday comprises 300 million euros in grant and 200 million euros in guarantees by the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+) that will back a loan by the European Investment Bank.

To date, a total of 191 countries have participated in the COVAX facility, 92 of them low and middle-income economies eligible to get access to Covid-19 vaccines through Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment. Most of these are in Africa.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is a global health partnership of public and private sector organizations dedicated to "immunization for all." On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed that the Group of 20 (G20) set up an emergency task force to prepare a "Global Vaccination Plan" against Covid-19.

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