UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an additional $ 35 billion for the World Health Organization's (WHO) ACT Accelerator program to support vaccines, treatment, and diagnosis of COVID-19.

Nearly $ 3 billion has been contributed so far, Guterres said, calling it 'seed funding', which was less than 10% of what WHO wants for the program, Reuters reported.

Financial support has lagged behind targets so far as countries including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States enter into bilateral vaccine deals, prompting Guterres and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to urge countries to do their part.

“We now need $35 billion more to go from ‘start up’ to ‘scale up and impact’,” Guterres said in online remarks at a meeting of a council formed to help the ACT Accelerator gain traction. “There is real urgency in these numbers. Without an infusion of $15 billion over the next three months, beginning immediately, we will lose the window of opportunity.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged support with a pledge of € 400 million for part of the COVAX vaccine program.