The recent appointment of Carl Bildt as WHO Special Envoy for the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) has turned the spotlight on this groundbreaking international collaboration. The ACT-Accelerator is designed to speed up the development, production, and equitable distribution of Covid-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
ACT-Accelerator: An Overview
Officially launched in April 2020, the ACT-Accelerator is an ambitious initiative co-hosted by the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the President of France, the President of the European Commission, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It aims to bring together governments, scientists, businesses, civil society, philanthropists, and global health organizations. Key participants include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Gavi, The Global Fund, Unitaid, and the World Bank among others. Its primary goal is to end the pandemic, restore full societal and economic activity globally and facilitate high-level control of Covid-19 disease. The ACT-Accelerator is organized into four key pillars: diagnostics, treatment, vaccines, and health system strengthening. Each pillar plays a critical role and depends on intensive innovation and cooperation.
The COVAX Initiative
COVAX, one of the four pillars of the ACT-Accelerator, is a concerted effort to ensure worldwide access to Covid-19 vaccines, regardless of economic status. The initial goal is to make 2 billion doses available by the end of 2021, enough to protect high-risk and vulnerable individuals, as well as frontline healthcare workers. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO, and collaborates with vaccine manufacturers from both developed and developing countries.
India’s Contribution
Amidst these international efforts, India has begun shipping Covid-19 vaccines to Africa under the COVAX facility. Previously, the Serum Institute of India (SII) received funding from Gavi and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to double its supply of Covid-19 vaccines (up to 200 million doses) for India and other less wealthy countries as part of the Gavi COVAX facility.
The Significance of ACT-Accelerator
The ACT-Accelerator plays an increasingly important role as the world rolls out vaccines against Covid-19, introduces new diagnostics, and scales up life-saving treatments such as oxygen and corticosteroids. This initiative is vital in addressing the uneven global distribution of vaccines and the emergence of new variants of concern.
Corticosteroids: A Key Treatment
Corticosteroids, a class of drugs that can reduce inflammation and modulate immune system activity, play a crucial role in the ACT-Accelerator’s health response strategy. These compounds, which mimic the hormone cortisol naturally produced by the body’s adrenal glands, are used to ease swelling, itching, redness, and allergic reactions, making them effective against diseases like asthma, arthritis, lupus, allergies, and more. Understanding how cortisol influences various bodily processes, including metabolism, immune response, and stress, is vital to the successful treatment of many health conditions. Proper cortisol levels are needed for maintaining good health.