Saudi Arabia, as the holder of the G20 Presidency, has pledged $500 million to international organizations to support global efforts in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. “This pledge will support emergency and preparedness response, developing and deploying new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, fulfilling unmet needs for international surveillance and coordination, and ensuring sufficient supplies of protective equipment for health workers,” it said in a statement on Thursday. Saudi Arabia will allocate $150 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation (CEPI), $150 million to The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), and $200 million to other international and regional health organizations and programs. The Kingdom’s contribution falls in line with the commitment made during the extraordinary summit of G20 leaders that was chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, last month. During the summit, G20 leaders agreed to mobilize the needed funds for international organizations response programs. “Recognizing the importance of global solidarity and cooperation in combatting this pandemic, the Kingdom has called on all countries, non-governmental organizations, philanthropies, and the private sector to take part in the global efforts to close the required financing gap in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which is estimated to be over $8 billion according to the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB),” said the statement. “The G20 continues to take action, under the Saudi Presidency, and will act collectively, immediately and boldly to combat the global effects of this pandemic and to implement priority actions across all G20 workstreams,” it added.