G20 president Indonesia: Pandemic fund may start June, needs World Bank nod

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A G20 fund to better prepare for future pandemics may be operational at the end of June, if an approval is given by the board of the World Bank, which houses it, the finance minister of current G20 president Indonesia said late on Tuesday.

G20 countries have provisionally agreed to set up the multi-billion dollar fund, which health officials have said will finance efforts like surveillance, research, and better access to vaccinations for lower-to-middle income countries, among others.

Over $1.1 billion has been pledged to the fund by the United States, the European Union, Germany and Singapore, among others, health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said a news conference.

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman and Stanley Widianto; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)