The COVAX Facility has started rolling out the first round of doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to Australia's Pacific and Southeast Asian neighbours.
The COVAX Facility, a global vaccine sharing initiative, has allocated an initial 1 million doses to the Pacific and 25 million to Southeast Asia. Delivery of doses has commenced, with Fiji, Cambodia, Indonesia and Philippines so far receiving vaccines. Other eligible countries are expected to receive initial doses by April 2021.
There is no higher priority for Australia and countries in our region than access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. The Australian Government is committed to working together with our neighbours to save lives, help economies reopen and ensure our region's stability.
Further COVAX Facility allocations will be announced later this year to ensure all eligible developing countries have sufficient doses to vaccinate up to 20 per cent of their populations by the end of 2021.
The COVAX Facility aims to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. These doses will be delivered to partners in our region in parallel with the rollout of vaccines in Australia. In this pandemic, no one is safe until everyone is.
The COVAX Facility is a unique global collaboration that pools technology risk and purchasing power to maximise the availability of a diverse range of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe.
The Facility is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi and the World Health Organization, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF.
Australia has contributed $80 million to the Facility to ensure healthcare workers and vulnerable groups in our region and beyond have timely access to vaccines.
Australia's support complements our $523.2 million COVID-19 Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative for the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
