WHO Pleads with G7 to take action to combat Covid-19

According to the WHO, the Group of Seven industrial powers have the financial means to finance the vaccinations, tests, and treatments required to combat the pandemic – as well as break down the barriers that are slowing down production.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the G7 to take decisive action at their June 11-13 summit in Cornwall, southwest England, hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“The G7 countries are the economic and political leaders of the world. Many of the world’s vaccine manufacturers are also based there “Tedros said during a press conference.

“Without the leadership of these nations, we will not be able to address the vaccine crisis.”

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown backed Tedros, warning that the pandemic was becoming a “man-made disaster.”

This year, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator program, which aims to discover, produce, and distribute coronavirus vaccines, studies, and therapeutics, falls $19 billion short of its $22-billion target.

A further $35 to $45 billion will be needed next year to ensure that the majority of adults around the world are immunize.

Brown, who chaired the G20 in 2009 as it plotted its way out of the global financial crisis, urged world leaders to take swift and decisive action.

“I say to the G7… you have the power and resources to cover nearly two-thirds of the costs and achieve a historic milestone by deciding on a fair burden-sharing formula,” the former finance minister said.

According to an AFP count, about 1.2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been injected worldwide.

However, only 0.2 percent of them were conducted in the 29 low-income nations, which account for 9% of the global population.

Rich countries negotiating their own agreements with manufacturers have effectively pushed the Covax global vaccine-sharing program out of the market.

The COVAX initiative has now delivered over 49 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine around the world.

Donors pay the cost of vaccinations for the 92 poorest economies involved in COVAX initiative.

The COVAX initiative has been encouraging rich countries to donate extra doses to help alleviate supply shortages.