Group of 20 (G20) countries have provisionally agreed to set up a global fund for pandemic preparedness, likely to be housed at the World Bank.

The United States and Indonesia have been pushing for the establishment of such a fund to help the world be better prepared to tackle future pandemics, but others have voiced concern that the fund could weaken the World Health Organization (WHO) or other global health mechanisms.

However, a statement issued by Indonesia, chair of the G20, after meetings of finance ministers in Washington, US, this week confirmed that the G20 had "reached a consensus" on establishing a new fund to address what it called the financing gap for pandemic preparedness, prevention and action.

It said the most effective option would be a financial intermediary fund (FIF) housed at the World Bank, and the aim was to finalize the details by the meeting of G20 health ministers in June.

Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said earlier that Indonesia was proposing to gather US$15 billion per year for 10 years, so that the fund would accumulate to $150 billion. He likened the health fund proposal to the creation of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) following the Bretton Woods conference of 1944.

“The IMF, for example, has $200 billion and the World Bank has $600 billion, so $150 billion is enough,” he said.

Read also: Equal access to funding, Big Pharma commitments essential in global COVID-19 resilience

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