New Pandemic Fund grants to help bolster pandemic preparedness and response for countries of the Americas

As part of its second round of funding, released on 18 October 2024, the Pandemic Fund (PF) has approved five new projects for Latin America and the Caribbean, aimed at improving countries’ preparedness for future pandemics. 

Projects selected by the multilateral financing mechanism will benefit ten countries across the region (Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, and six Eastern Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines). The grants, which total 84.1 million US dollars, will be used to enhance disease surveillance and early warning systems, improve laboratories, and develop the health workforce, among other key activities.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will play an active role in supporting four of the five new projects as an implementing entity, collaborating closely with government actors and other delivery partners and key stakeholders.

“This financing represents a critical investment in enhancing pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacities in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director said. “Our region was the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 mpox outbreak, and continues to face substantial risks from the emergence and re-emergence of pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential, as illustrated by the current outbreak of Oropouche disease virus,” he added.

The Pandemic Fund received a total of 146 proposals during its second call, with funding requests totaling US$4.6 billion, almost 10 times the available budget of $500 million. In total, 23 projects were approved globally, allocating US$418 million overall. A further US$128.89 million was allocated by the Fund in September 2024 to 5 projects addressing the current mpox outbreak in Africa.

“While the funds allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean will be critical, they represent just 20% of the total funds requested, highlighting the urgent need for more sustainable financing for pandemic preparedness in our region,” Dr. Barbosa said.

The Pandemic Fund is a catalytic financing mechanism which provides important resources to advance pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) capacities while incentivizing further investment in PPR. It is part of a wider movement towards reaching more sustainable financing for PPR for national and global health security.

Hosted by the World Bank, the Pandemic Fund has already supported four projects in the Americas under its first round of financing, totaling $45 million in grant funds.

A third call for proposals is expected to be launched during the first quarter of 2025.

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This story was first published by PAHO.