Stressing that no one is safe until everyone is safe, the UN chief told the G20 World Health Summit in Rome “it is time to act decisively “.
Mr. Guterres reiterated his call for the G20 to establish a working group “able to engage with pharmaceutical companies and other key stakeholders” and which would deal with equitable distribution of vaccines through the global COVAX mechanism.
“We are at war”
The aim would be to double the manufacturing capacity using all options such as voluntary licenses, technology transfer, patent pooling and intellectual property “flexibility”.
“Let’s be clear, we are at war with the virus,” the Secretary-General said. “And if you are at war with the virus, we have to manage our weapons under the rules of a war economy, and we are not there yet. And this is true for vaccines, and it is true for other elements of the fight against the virus ”.
Promising the UN’s full support for this effort, the Secretary-General said that the G20 Working Group “should be co-convened at the highest level by the great powers which hold most of the world’s capacity to operate. supply and production ”.
Membership would include countries that can produce vaccines, the World Health Organization (WHO), financial institutions and multisectoral partners participating in the ACT Accelerator, the global collaboration to develop and equitably distribute Covid-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.
Support the COVAX mechanism
COVAX, its vaccine arm, is expected to have already delivered 180 million doses worldwide, but Mr Guterres said only 65 million had been distributed due to “vaccine nationalism”, limited production capacity and lack of funding. . He called on the G20 countries to “lead by example” by providing their full share of funding.
The Secretary-General said rapid and comprehensive vaccination, combined with continued public health measures, was the only way to end the global pandemic and prevent the emergence of more dangerous variants of Covid-19.
However, over 80% of vaccines went to rich countries, with the poorest countries receiving a paltry 0.3%.
“The extremely unequal access to vaccines, tests, drugs and supplies, including oxygen, has left the poorest countries at the mercy of the virus,” he said. “The recent outbreaks of Covid-19 in India, South America and other regions have literally left people breathless before our eyes.”
The Secretary-General stressed that while global vaccine action can end this pandemic, it will not help prevent the next. “The foundation for recovery from Covid-19, and for preventing and treating future health crises, is universal health coverage and strong primary health care systems,” he said.
“The world cannot wait any longer”
Addressing the summit, the head of the United Nations health agency, WHO, warned that people will continue to die if the global vaccine disparity persists.
“Yes, the rapid development of anti-Covid-19 vaccines is a triumph of science. But their inequitable distribution is a failure for humanity, ”said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “We can only end the pandemic if everyone has the tools to stop it.”
Dr Tedros called on G20 countries to fully fund the Accelerator-ACT, share more doses through COVAX and give up intellectual property on vaccines, especially for Africa. “The G20 has all the means to vaccinate the world, and the world cannot wait any longer,” he said.
There have been more than 165 million recorded cases of Covid-19 worldwide, but the WHO said on Friday that the actual number of deaths could be two to three times higher than officially reported numbers.
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