The Fund will provide additional long-term dedicated funding to strengthen PPR capacity in low - and middle-income countries and address key gaps through investment and technical support at the national, regional, and global levels. The Fund will leverage the strength and comparative advantages of PPR's key participants to provide complementary support, enhance partner coordination, incentivize increased national investment, and act as an advocacy platform to generate and sustain the high level of attention needed to strengthen health systems.

The call for proposals for the first FIF funded projects will begin in November 2022.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for action to build stronger health systems," said World Bank Group President David Malpass. Investing now will save countless lives and resources for years to come. We welcome the broad international support for the World Bank's new multilateral financial intermediation facility to help low - and middle-income countries and regions better respond to the global health crisis, and we are pleased to have been able to establish the facility quickly."

The World Bank's Board of Directors approved the establishment of the fund on June 30, 2022. The World Bank will serve as a trustee of the FIF and chair its secretariat, which includes technical staff seconded from WHO. The FIF Board will establish a technical advisory group, chaired by WHO and staffed by key experts, to assess the technical content of investment project proposals and make recommendations to the Board to ensure their linkage to the IHR and as part of a broader global PPR framework.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge shock to the world, and we know it is only a matter of time before the next pandemic occurs," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. If we do not learn the hard lessons of COVID-19 and take steps to close the critical gaps in preparedness for pandemics and pandemics, we will have suffered and lost all this pain and loss for nothing. "The FIF is an important measure, and WHO looks forward to providing technical leadership to advise the FIF board on where funding is most effective, especially in low - and middle-income countries, to protect people's health."

The new fund is overseen by a board of directors, which sets the overall work plan and makes investment decisions. The FIF board includes sovereign donors, potential implementing governments (co-investors), and representatives from foundations and civil society organizations, all of whom are equally represented.

Together with the Board, the World Bank and WHO will intensify their efforts to get the Fund up and running, in consultation with civil society organizations and other stakeholders, to develop the FIF outcome framework and priorities before the first call for project proposals.

FIF funding will help strengthen and sustain PPR capacity in areas such as zoonotic disease surveillance, laboratories, emergency communications, coordinated management, key health worker capacity, and community engagement. Fif-funded projects will also help strengthen PPR capacity at regional and global levels, such as building capacity for emergency medical product production. The FIF will support peer learning and provide targeted technical assistance to help systematically monitor PPR capabilities.

The FIF was established with broad support from G20 countries and others. The FIF has received more than $1.4 billion in commitments and expects to reap more in the coming months. So far, Australia, Canada, China, the European commission, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the united Arab emirates, United Kingdom, the United States, the bill and Melinda gates foundation, the Rockefeller foundation and the wellcome trust has made a commitment.