Its rich countries G7 discuss in London the means to ensure a fairer distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world, World Health Organization (WHO) called on them to show greater solidarity in dealing with the new coronavirus pandemic, according to the APE.
At this first meeting in two years, the Foreign Ministers of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom They are expected to continue their talks in the British capital on the current state of health.
While advances in vaccination campaigns in Europe and the US allow a gradual lifting of restrictions to curb the new coronavirus pandemic, poor countries still face severe shortages of vaccine doses to tackle the COVID-19 epidemic. .
COVAX, the system for a fair distribution of vaccines through the supply of poor countries, which mainly supplies its vaccines AstraZeneca, has lagged behind: it has so far delivered just 49 million doses in 121 countries and territories, with a target of delivering 2 billion doses in 2021.
At the same time, the dramatic situation in India is a reminder that the COVID-19 crisis, which has caused more than 3.2 million deaths worldwide, is not over.
THE British Foreign Secretary Dominique Raab He explained that the London summit would provide an opportunity to give “positive answers to the issue of aid to the most vulnerable countries”. He cited COVAX funding, but also the use of plenty of surplus doses, as they had been ordered by rich countries before they knew which vaccines would be effective.
At a meeting last Tuesday night on Downing Street, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also referred to a possible G7 effort “to increase vaccine production capacity internationally,” according to Downing Street.
On Monday, the director-general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tentros Antanom Gebregesous, called on the G7 countries to pay the missing funds to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Gebregesos expressed concern about the $ 19 billion (out of the 22 needed this year) funding deficit facing this collective initiative, which began a year ago trying to eliminate inequalities in the fight against COVID-19.
This initiative is known as Accelerator for access to tools against COVID-19 (ACT-Accelerator).
“We estimate that we will need an additional $ 35 billion to $ 45 billion next year to vaccinate the majority of adults in the world,” added the WHO chief, who called on the G7 to lead global efforts.
Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on G7 leaders to take on two-thirds of the cost of fighting the pandemic (including 27% for the US, 23% for the EU and 5% for the UK).
Strict protocol
This system clashed with the will of the richest countries, which, faced with world pressure, procured the maximum number of installments they could at the expense of others.
The mechanism was also hampered by India’s decision to block AstraZeneca’s installment exports through the Serum Institute of India (SII), at a time when the country itself is flooded with the COVID-19 epidemic.
Ahead of their meeting in mid-June in the south-west of England, the G7 heads of state and government pledged in February to double their $ 7.5 billion collective support for vaccination, mainly through the COVAX program.
To deal with the emergency, the French president had then asked rich countries to ship very quickly 3 to 5% of their available installments to Africa.
Ahead of talks on health today, G7 foreign ministers discussed the crisis in Iran and North Korea, China, Russia, on Monday night and Tuesday, in camera. Syria and climate change.
Meetings between participants are conducted according to a strict protocol due to the pandemic, with reduced representations, masks, social distancing measures and transparent partitions.
Despite these restrictions, the EU High Representative Josep Borrell welcomed the repetition of the meetings with a physical presence: “This is how consensus is reached, agreements are concluded”, he noted.
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