WHO Appoints Carl Bildt as Special Envoy for ACT-Accelerator

The World Health Organisation has appointed Mr Carl Bildt, the former Prime Minister of Sweden, as WHO Special Envoy for the Access to COVID19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator).

Launched at the end of April 2020, the ACT-Accelerator is a global collaboration created to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-9 tests, treatments, and vaccines. It is organized into four pillars of work: diagnostics, treatment, vaccines and health system strengthening.

As WHO Special Envoy for the ACT-Accelerator, Mr Bildt will help lead the collective advocacy for the ACT-Accelerator, mobilizing support and resources so it can deliver against its strategy for 2021.

He will also support the leaders of the ACT-Accelerator co-convening agencies, particularly in aligning work that cuts across the diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines pillars and health-system connector; consult widely on the work of the ACT-Accelerator; advise the Director-General of WHO, ACT-Accelerator principals and stakeholders on emerging issues; and represent the ACT-Accelerator in key national and international fora.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Former Prime Minister Bildt’s appointment as Special Envoy for the ACT - accelerator comes at a time when global solidarity and equitable access to life-saving tools are more important than ever. We are fortunate to have him in this important leadership role, helping us to get therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines to health workers and vulnerable populations around the world.”

Mr Bildt has had an extensive career dedicated to working for the global common good. He served as both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Sweden, and is a renowned international diplomat, having been EU Special Envoy to the Former Yugoslavia; High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; UN Special Envoy to the Balkan; and Co-Chair of the Dayton Peace Conference.

“I am honoured to have been appointed as WHO Special Envoy for the ACT-Accelerator,” said Mr Bildt. “As a unique instrument of coordination for the global effort to fight the pandemic, the ACT-Accelerator has proved its worth during the past year. But with infections rising in all regions of the world, and with the danger of vaccine nationalism growing, work must be intensified across the entire range of efforts to fight the pandemic. It’s a question of saving lives, protecting health systems and getting the global economy going again.”

Mr Bildt succeeds Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Sir Andrew Witty in the role.

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