“Our world cannot afford a two-tier recovery from Covid-19,” Guterres insisted.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called it a “serious mistake” to think that the Covid-19 pandemic is over, at a time when access to vaccines remains “unequal”.
“The distribution of vaccines remains shockingly unequal. Manufacturers produce 1.5 billion doses a month, but nearly three billion people are still waiting for their first dose,” the UN chief lamented in a message released Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the outbreak of the pandemic.
For him, this “failure is the direct result of political and budgetary decisions that prioritize the health of people in rich countries over the health of people in poor countries”.
“Our world cannot afford a two-tier recovery from Covid-19,” Guterres insisted, stressing the need to reach the goal of vaccinating 70% of people in all countries by the middle. of the current year.
He noted, however, that thanks to unprecedented public health measures and the “extraordinarily rapid” development and deployment of vaccines, many parts of the world are managing to bring the pandemic under control.
“Science and solidarity have proven to be an unbeatable combination. We must rededicate ourselves to ending this pandemic for all people and all countries, and closing this sad chapter in human history, once and for all,” he pleaded.
According to the most recent data from the American University Johns Hopkins, the death toll linked to the coronavirus pandemic in the world exceeded 6 million on Monday.
The disparity in access to vaccines continues to persist across the world. Only 6.95% of the population in low-income countries are fully immunized compared to over 73% in high-income countries.
“Over the past few months, we have seen unprecedented levels of disease transmission across the world due to the Omicron variant. Yet unequal access to vaccines, testing and treatment is rampant, prolonging the pandemic,” according to a statement from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization issued following consultations with UNICEF, the Gavi mechanisms and the Vaccine Alliance, with the bosses of the main vaccine producers.
According to the same source, 23 countries have not yet fully vaccinated 10% of their population, 73 countries have not yet reached 40% coverage and many more are expected to miss the 70% target by the end of the year. middle of this year.
