RIYADH — As the holder of the G20 Presidency, Saudi Arabia has welcomed the global call to action to fund a universally available and affordable COVID-19 vaccination, treatment and diagnostics. Saudi Arabia will co-lead the Global Response Pledging on Monday (May 4) along with the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Norway. The pledging event aims to raise funds for the immediate need of $8 billion, which the Global Preparedness and Monitoring Board stated is urgently required to develop and deliver a COVID-19 vaccine, along with diagnostics and therapeutic resources. The global pandemic requires a global response and international collaboration. Our priority, as an international community, is to safeguard people and their livelihoods and make sure the opportunities to recover from this pandemic exist for all. The G20 has been leading the global response and is committed to "spare no effort" in the fight against this pandemic. G20 members have taken unprecedented action at an unprecedented speed to address the major disruptions caused by the pandemic on public health and the global economy. The Saudi G20 Presidency is calling on global partners to support this funding campaign to ensure that we can say, for generations to come, that we defeated COVID-19 as a global community. Saudi Arabia has already pledged $500 million to support the global fundraising efforts.