October 29th, 2021
On Friday 29 October 2021, G20 Finance and Health Ministers met for their first joint meeting under the Italian G20 Presidency. The meeting took place on the eve of the G20 Leaders’ Summit and it was co-chaired by Daniele Franco, Italian Minister for Economy and Finance, and Roberto Speranza, Italian Minister of Health.
Finance and Health Ministers agreed on a joint communiqué.
Under the Italian G20 Presidency, the membership committed to bringing the pandemic under control everywhere as soon as possible, and strengthening collective efforts to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond to future pandemics. In this sense, the G20 will take all necessary steps needed to advance on the global goals of vaccinating at least 40 percent of the population in all countries by the end of 2021 and 70 percent by mid-2022, as recommended by the WHO.
Finance and Health Ministers have also committed to helping boost the supply of vaccines, medical countermeasures and inputs in developing countries and remove relevant supply and financing constraints. To this end, the G20 will continue to support the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and the extension of its mandate into 2022, advancing collaboration with global and regional initiatives.
They have acknowledged that financing for PPR has to become more adequate, more sustainable and better coordinated and requires a continuous cooperation between health and finance decision-makers, including to address potential financing gaps, mobilising an appropriate mix of existing multilateral financing mechanisms and explore setting up new financing mechanisms.
In particular, to further strengthening a crucial coordination between Finance and Health Ministries, G20 members agreed to establish a Joint Finance-Health Task Force. Such Task Force will enhance the collaboration and global cooperation on issues relating to pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, thus leaving the international community better prepared in the eventual case of future health threats outbreaks. The Task Force will also promote the exchange of experiences and best practices, developing coordination arrangements between Finance and Health Ministries, promoting collective action and encouraging effective stewardship of resources to address the existing financing gaps in pandemic preparedness and response.
The Task Force is initially jointly chaired by the 2021 and 2022 G20 Presidencies. It will report to Health and Finance Ministers in early 2022 and will be assisted by a secretariat housed at the WHO, with the support of the World Bank.
