Quad summit: US, Australia, Japan to infuse $218m for Covid-19 vaccine production, delivery

The United States, Australia and Japan will infuse $218 million for manufacture, procurement and last-mile delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to countries in the Indo-Pacific region and decided to work collaboratively to help expand production of safe and effective vaccine at facilities in India.

The decisions were taken at the first online summit of US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Premier Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who make up the Quadrilateral, an emerging grouping of the four countries with an eye on China.

The United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), as well as others have been roped in to fund the Quad countries' efforts to address financing and logistical demands for production, procurement and delivery of vaccines, said a "Fact Sheet" issued last night after the summit.

The United States will leverage existing programmes to further boost vaccination capability, drawing on at least 100 million dollars in regional efforts focused on immunisation, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The United States, through the DFC, will work with American pharma major Biological E Ltd to finance increased capacity to support Biological E's effort to produce at least one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines by the end of 2022 with Stringent Regulatory Authorisation and World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing (EUL), including the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Japan, through JICA, is in discussions to provide concessional yen loans for the Indian government to expand the production of Covid-19 vaccines for export, with priority on producing vaccines that have received authorisation from WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) or Stringent Regulatory Authorities.

The Quad partners also agreed to cooperate to strengthen "last-mile" vaccination in the Indo-Pacific by supporting countries with vaccine readiness and delivery, vaccine procurement, health workforce preparedness, responses to vaccine misinformation, community engagement and immunisation capacity.

Australia will contribute US$77 million for the provision of vaccines and "last-mile" delivery support with a focus on Southeast Asia, in addition to its existing commitment of US$407 million for regional vaccine access and health security which will provide full vaccine coverage to nine Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste, and support procurement, prepare for vaccine delivery, and strengthen health systems in Southeast Asia.

Japan will assist vaccination programmes of developing countries such as the purchase of vaccines and cold-chain support including through a grant aid of $41 million and new concessional yen loans, ensuring alignment with and support of COVAX, the WHO's global vaccine platform.

"Quad partners will ensure expanded manufacturing to be exported for global benefit, to be procured through key multilateral initiatives, such as COVAX, that provide life-saving vaccines for low-income countries, and by countries in need," said the Fact Sheet.

"While ensuring that vaccines have been made available to our people, Quad partners will launch a landmark partnership to further accelerate the end of the Covid-19 pandemic," it said.

The Quad's commitment would be implemented by a senior-level vaccine experts' group, comprising top scientists.