On Mar. 26, 2020, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), addressed Heads of State at an extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit focused on COVID-19. The G20 committed to support and further strengthen WHO’s mandate in coordinating the response, and called for full funding of WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.

The G20 committed to support and further strengthen WHO’s mandate in coordinating the response, and called for full funding of WHO‘s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan. G20 members pledged to work together to increase research and development funding for vaccines and medicines, strengthen international scientific cooperation, and leverage digital technologies.

In turn, they tasked WHO and other relevant organizations with assessing gaps in pandemic preparedness and report the findings of this assessment to the G20 Finance and Health Ministers, in order to establish a global initiative on pandemic preparedness and response together.