If the COVID-19 pandemic has made anything clear, it’s that viruses don't respect borders — and that individual country responses to them shouldn’t either.

As the world finds itself amid a second wave of the deadly disease, countries must respond with a global agenda, which is what Canada has done so far with its COVID-19 response.

To date, the country has mobilized more than $1.6 billion for the global COVID-19 response, which includes $940 million in funding for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator — a global collaboration that was launched in 2020 to quickly develop tests, treatments, and vaccines against COVID-19 and to ensure their equitable distribution around the world. This also includes $740 million for humanitarian and development assistance, and $488 million in help for organizations to adapt and respond to the issues created by the pandemic in developing countries, according to the government of Canada.

The ACT-Accelerator’s founding organizations include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI); Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; UNITAID; the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND); the Wellcome Trust; the World Bank; and the World Health Organization (WHO).

But it’s donor countries that now play a vital role in safeguarding the ACT-Accelerator’s success, and Canada has been one of the countries at the forefront.

Canada committed $40 million in April to CEPI in April 2020, then announced a $300 million commitment as a result of Global Citizen’s Global Goal: Unite for Our Future campaign, with $120 million earmarked for the ACT-Accelerator and $180 million pledged to address humanitarian and development needs created by COVID-19.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau then announced a commitment of $220 million to the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility on Sept. 25 to help low-income countries access the COVID-19 vaccine.

Read the full article about Canada's COVID-19 response at Global Citizen.