The U.S. government has been a bold leader in the global fight against COVID-19. As global COVID-19 vaccine supply surged in 2021 following historic donations from the United States, the U.S. government ramped up support and expanded its leadership by launching the Initiative for Global Vaccine Access, known as Global VAX. Through Global VAX, the U.S. government leveraged its decades of investment in global health and diplomatic partnerships to help 120 partner countries deliver lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines to millions of people.
Global VAX mobilized multiple U.S. government agencies’ expertise in a whole-of-government initiative, with more than $1.8 billion in funding committed to COVID-19 vaccination thanks to the generous support and leadership of the U.S. Congress. In close collaboration with partner governments and multilateral partners, Global VAX supported more than 120 countries in driving widespread impact to the hardest-to-reach populations through large-scale COVID-19 vaccine delivery. A set of 11 “surge” countries with significant need, all in sub-Saharan Africa, received intensive financial, technical, and diplomatic engagement through Global VAX that catalyzed and accelerated country COVID-19 vaccination efforts. As a result, Global VAX contributed to an unprecedented acceleration in COVID-19 vaccine delivery, demand, and uptake globally.
The Global VAX Initiative brought together the capabilities of the United States Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of State, including the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, Peace Corps, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, the Department of the Treasury, and other interagency partners under one whole-of-government umbrella, allowing the U.S. government to leverage the full spectrum of global health capabilities to respond to the evolving COVID-19 crisis.
