This week, hosted by the United States, world leaders will gather virtually for the Global COVID-19 Summit: Ending The Pandemic And Building Back Better. According to a group of experts convened by the Pandemic Action Network, the summit is an opportunity to kickstart a global coordinated response plan. As the pandemic persists and the gap between the vaccine haves and have nots grows larger, the Network and partners from around the world welcomes the summit and the targets defined by the Biden Administration, but warns that without specific, concrete action driven by transparent leadership and accountability, we will see millions more COVID-19 infections, deaths, and chances for virus mutations. The Framework for a Global Action Plan for COVID-19 Response, backed by 61 organizations, outlines a 6-point global plan of attack to deliver on the summit targets.

"We are 18 months into this crisis, and we still don't have a global plan to address this global pandemic," said Eloise Todd, co-founder of Pandemic Action Network. "This year's UN General Assembly and the Biden Administration's summit must be a step change to how we are tackling this crisis. We need leaders to attend this summit, commit to ensuring that 40% of the world's population gets vaccinated by the end of the year and 70% by mid-2022. Leaders must roll up their sleeves to take the action needed, delivering all the tests, treatments, PPE, and of course vaccines to achieve this ambition. This pandemic is incubating the next one — it's time to do whatever it takes to end the COVID crisis for everyone in 2022."

"The staggering global inequality in vaccine access is costing lives, fracturing the world even more, and compromising global cooperation in all other critical areas such as climate change," said Pascal Lamy. "Vaccinating the world is a solvable problem. But it will require much stronger coordinated action to correct the course and put us firmly on track to end the devastating effects of the pandemic. We've defined what must be done, and we now need leadership and accountability."

Pascal Lamy is President of the Paris Peace Forum and former director-general of the WTO, and one of the 20 individuals and more than 60 organizations that have signed on to the framework, including Care, the CDC Foundation, the Future Africa Forum, Global Citizen, the International Rescue Committee, ONE, PATH, Sabin Vaccine Institute, Save the Children, the United Nations Foundation, VillageReach, and Women in Global Health as well as the Paris Peace Forum.

In order to end the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the next, Pandemic Action Network, COVID Collaborative, multiple centers at Duke University,  and more than 60 global partners are calling on world leaders to:

1. Strengthen global leadership and accountability. Strong, sustained political leadership and accountability is needed to coordinate and galvanize the many existing multilateral and bilateral responses.
2. Develop and implement a Global COVID-19 Response Roadmap. Leaders should develop and agree to an end-to-end, fully costed roadmap to end the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, which should include specific, timebound commitments and steps. 
3. Empower a Global Task Force for Supply Chain and Manufacturing. This Task Force should be part of the global leadership framework and should expand production of vaccine inputs, vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and other life-saving interventions. 
4. Accelerate sharing of vaccines and other life-saving interventions. 
5. Prioritize strengthening country-level distribution and delivery capabilities. Recognizing that country-level distribution, delivery, and demand-generation are quickly becoming the key constraints in the race between vaccines and variants. 
6. Increase multi-year financing for the pandemic response and preparedness in low- and middle-income countries. Funding must be additional and must match the scope and urgency of the COVID-19 response and close critical global gaps in pandemic preparedness.

"We are in a race against time. The world has the resources and the ingenuity to end the COVID-19 crisis, but we need leaders to step up to meet the moment with the urgency that it deserves," said Gary Edson, president of the COVID Collaborative.

"This is about leadership and accountability. If the global COVID-19 response remains rudderless and fragmented, without real levers for accountability, all well-meaning commitments will have little impact," added Krishna Udayakumar, founding director of the Duke Global Health Innovation Center.

The full framework with a 6-point action plan is available here.