In parallel, António Guterres reiterated that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic must be based on fairness and justice, criteria that are currently not met.
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, again urged the world to prepare for a new pandemic on Monday during his videoconference speech to the participants of the World Economic Forum, after he launched a similar message at the end of December.
“We must prepare for the next pandemic by investing in common sense monitoring , early detection and rapid response plans in all countries, and by reinforcing the authority of the World Health Organization (WHO),” said the head of the entity.
At the same time, Guterres once again reiterated that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic must be based on fairness and justice, criteria that are currently not met .
Thus, the senior official found that the plans drawn up by the WHO to vaccinate 40% of the world population by the end of last year and 70% by mid-2022 are far from becoming a reality.
” We are not getting close to these goals . Vaccination rates in high-income countries are shamefully seven times higher than in African countries. We need equality in vaccines now,” he stressed.
We cannot afford to replicate the inequalities and injustices that continue condemning tens of millions of people to lives of want, poverty & poor health.
We need to come together — across countries & sectors— to support those countries who need the most help. #DavosAgenda pic.twitter.com/DgauGGHb2u
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) January 17, 2022
In this sense, he insisted on the need for both “all countries” and “all manufacturers” of vaccines to opt for the Covax mechanism, promoted by the WHO to promote equitable access to drugs, as well as support the production local tests, components and anticovid treatments.
“We need pharmaceutical companies to stand in solidarity with developing countries by sharing licences , expertise and technologies so that we can all find a way out of this pandemic,” he summarized.
