ROME: The Minister of Finance and the Health of the 20 largest economies in the world (G20) said on Friday they would take steps to ensure 70% of the world’s population was vaccinated against Covid-19 in mid 2022 and creating a task force to combat future pandemics.
They cannot reach an agreement on separate financing facilities proposed by the United States and Indonesia, but said the task force will explore the choice to mobilize funds to improve the readiness of the pandemic, prevention and response.
“To help advance towards global purposes to vaccinate at least 40 percent of the population in all countries at the end of 2021 and 70 percent in mid 2022 …
we will take steps to help increase supply vaccines and essential medical.
Products and input in countries Growing and removing supply constraints and relevant financing, “the G20 minister said in a statement.
Previous goals have observed 70% vaccination of the world population in the fall of 2022.
“We established the G20 Financial Financial Financial Task Force that aims to improve global dialogue and cooperation on issues related to prevention of pandemic, preparedness and responses, promote exchange experience and Best practices, develop coordination arrangements between the Ministry of Finance and Health, promote collective actions, assess and address health emergencies with cross-border impacts and encourage effective resource management, “said the statement.
The ministers said they prepared a new body because the Covid-19 pandemic had described significant shortcomings in the ability of the world to coordinate their responses.
They promise to support “all collaborative efforts” to provide access to a safe, affordable, quality and effective, therapeutic, diagnostic, and personal protective equipment, especially in low and medium-sized income countries.
To achieve vaccination goals, they say they will work to increase the supply of vaccines and essential medical products and inputs in developing countries, while eliminating constraints on offers and financing, but does not provide special details.
Global citizens, an international advocacy group, welcomed the previous target date, but said the world needed a “battle plan” that mapped ways there, greater transparency about how many doses produced where, when and for whom a clear understanding of where There is a gap.
“This is no longer time for the statement of intention.
Now is the time for our leaders to act,” said the group’s vice president, Friederike Roder.
The ministers also called for increasing the supply chain resilience through voluntary technology transfer hub, such as the new MRNA center established in South Africa, Argentina and Brazil, and through shared production and processing.
Calls for transferring voluntary MRNA technology means talking about the idea of ​​temporary neglect of intellectual property rights in vaccines and Covid-19 therapy – initially proposed by South Africa and India and is now fought by the United States – still trapped in the world of trade organizations.
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said the G20 did not discuss patents.
“We have many vaccines available throughout the world but in reality there are still areas in the world where parts of those who are vaccinated are very low,” Scholz told reporters on the sidelines of the summit.