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BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Germany is ready to fully support the campaign launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners on Friday to combat COVID-19, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

The WHO, world leaders and philanthropists launched the initiative to speed up work on diagnostics and the development of a vaccine to prevent, diagnose and treat COVID-19. A pledging conference is scheduled to take place in early May.

"Germany will make a substantial contribution to this conference. I call on everyone to support this great global goal," Merkel said.

"We will only defeat this virus if we join forces and form a powerful alliance," Merkel stressed. "This concerns a global public good, to produce this vaccine and to distribute it in all parts of the world."

Merkel said it is equally important to build up production capacity for a vaccine in as many places in the world as possible.

She also urged everyone, "whether from politics or the private sector, who is in a position to support us," to close the campaign's financial gap.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, when addressing the launch of the initiative at a virtual event, said that the WHO and its partners aim to "ensure all people have access to all the tools to defeat COVID-19."

"This is a landmark collaboration to accelerate the development, production and equitable distribution of vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics for COVID-19," Tedros said.

Noting that research and development play a central role, the WHO chief said since January, the UN health body has been working with thousands of researchers all over the world to accelerate and track vaccine development.