DOHA – WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that through the continuous support of Qatar we can build a safer, fairer and healthier future for people in Africa and the world.
Adhanom’s statements came today, Monday, on the first day of the Qatar Economic Forum, which was inaugurated by the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Read also Symptoms of the Corona virus .. 33 signs of infection Learn about the symptoms of the Indian strain of the Corona virus Symptoms of black fungus.. 18 signs of infection Corona Delta terror strain hits Moscow, sweeps the world, and records new symptoms
The forum will be held in cooperation with Bloomberg under the slogan “New Horizons for Tomorrow”, via video communication technology, and will last for 3 days, with great local and international participation.
Adhanom said that until recently, Africa did not witness the same level of devastation caused by the (Covid-19) epidemic that other regions witnessed, but currently it appears that Africa is witnessing a sharp rise in the number of infections and deaths in Corona while facing it without vaccines.
He stated that with the support of the COVAX initiative – a global initiative aimed at equitable access to “Covid-19” vaccines – 52 countries in Africa have begun to give the corona vaccination, but so far 40 million doses of the vaccine have been given, or less than 2% of the number the inhabitants of the continent.
He added that the World Health Organization aimed to support each country to vaccinate at least 10% of its population by September, at least 40% by the end of the year, and at least 70% by June next year.
crisis
He stressed that the World Health Organization and its partners are working day and night to secure access to more doses of the Corona vaccine and production to achieve this goal.
He said: Africa cannot rely on imports only to obtain vaccines, we must build capacity (to produce) not only Corona vaccines, but other vaccines and medical products.
The data show that people in the richest countries and regions receive vaccinations 30 times faster than people in the countries with the lowest incomes.
The World Health Organization says that 10 countries in the world have received 75% of the amount of vaccines given so far. In contrast, only 0.3% of the vaccinations went to the lowest-income countries.
Adhanom said the world was on the brink of a catastrophe of moral failure.
And the sharp rise in Corona cases and deaths in India, South Asia and Latin America painted a dark picture. Africa, in particular, is in trouble, as it has received only 1% of the available vaccines.
Africa relies heavily on imports from India to secure Corona vaccines, but the latter has stopped exporting vaccines.
This continent is exploring new options to protect its 1.2 billion people. The MasterCard Foundation announced that it will provide $1.3 billion over the next three years, in partnership with the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Global vaccine production must be accelerated and made more affordable.
Currently, some rich countries have agreed to share their vaccines with the Kovacs Initiative.
The World Trade Organization has also offered to raise intellectual property rights over the production of vaccines, and this is supported by the United States, India, South Africa and developing countries, but opposed by the European Union and pharmaceutical companies, according to Bloomberg.
In the midst of confrontation
This evening, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, delivered a speech at the opening session of the Qatar Economic Forum, in which he said, “Our meeting comes today while we are in the midst of the confrontation with the Covid-19 pandemic, which posed a serious and unprecedented challenge to all of humanity at all levels. Including the economic field, where endless discussions took place about the illusory trade-off between people’s health and the health of the economy, and uncertainty overshadowed the expectations of international institutions regarding the future prospects of the global economy, especially since the world has not yet moved to the post-pandemic stage in light of waves of renewed infections and mutations virus that underscores the uncertainty.”
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad added, “It has been proven, for example, that the role of the state is indispensable after many experts mourned it in the era of globalization. indispensable.”
On the other hand, it has been proven that such challenges cannot be overcome by relying solely on the efforts of the nation state. Confronting efforts must include civil society and the business sector, and must be coordinated globally, as well as investing in research, anticipating upcoming epidemics, and producing and distributing vaccines. These matters are not left to the national state alone, nor to the laws of the market and international trade alone to regulate them.
Sheikh Tamim said, “The State of Qatar has spared no effort in responding quickly to confront the serious repercussions of the pandemic, as we directed the adoption of a strategy based on 3 main axes, which is to protect all members of society by strengthening the medical sector, especially the public health sector, and providing the necessary support to the economy to limit the effects.” And based on this strategy, we have adopted a national program for vaccination against the virus, and the program has recently exceeded the number of two million and 800 thousand doses, where to date approximately 65% of the population has received the vaccine. We also directed to take all necessary measures to reduce the economic consequences of the pandemic and to provide support to the affected private sector in the amount of 75 billion riyals (about $ 20.6 billion).
He also said, “We must cooperate to narrow the gap between developed and developing countries, especially in obtaining a vaccine and facing the repercussions of the epidemic. The State of Qatar has taken great steps in this path by providing the necessary assistance to more than 80 countries and international organizations, and we pledged to provide support to the World Health Organization.” The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and many other international organizations and programs such as the Kovacs Program, which aims to reach the vaccine in a fair and equal manner to more than 92 countries in need of official development assistance by the end of this year.
The Emir of Qatar added, “I cannot fail here to stress that reaching vaccines to confront the Covid-19 virus is a commendable humanitarian effort, but that the race and competition of some countries to obtain quantities that exceed their needs will contribute to the stumbling of international efforts aimed at controlling the epidemic globally, as well as hindering The development process in developing and poor countries, and from this rostrum, I call on the leaders of the world’s countries, especially the major industrialized countries, for more cooperation within the framework of the international system, sharing responsibilities and working together for a just and comprehensive distribution of the vaccine in a way that establishes for us to build an integrated global social and economic system, It is in line with the global sustainable development goals, and achieves the good and stability of our peoples.”