Saudi Arabia calls for equitable climate financing at UNHRC    NCM Forecast: Dust storms expected across Saudi Arabia until next week    SR200,000 fine for Saudi and Egyptian in cover-up case    PIF assets soar to $1.15 trillion in 2024    Saudi Arabia advances 14 places to 13th rank in IPR Enforcement Index globally    Hundreds of families displaced by wave of Israeli air strikes on Gaza, witnesses say    Republican Senator Thom Tillis to leave Congress after clash with Trump    Car bomb attack in Pakistan kills at least 13 soldiers    One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands    Saudi Arabia imposes final anti-dumping duties on imports of steel pipes from China and Taiwan    Iranian Army Chief calls Saudi Defense Minister to discuss regional stability    Saudi Arabia's net FDI jumps 44% to SR22 billion in Q1 2025    Historic Jeddah's visual identity re-imagined through global art installations at Al-Arbaeen Lagoon    Saudi Arabia exit Gold Cup after quarterfinal defeat to Mexico    Al Hilal land in Orlando ahead of Club World Cup clash with Manchester City    Cristiano Ronaldo says the past is over and this season will be Al Nassr's    Al Hilal suffer injury blows ahead of Club World Cup match with Manchester City    Brad Pitt's Los Angeles home 'ransacked', police say    Tehran Symphony Orchestra holds free concert to honor Iranians killed in conflict with Israel    49% of Saudi internet users spend 7 hours a day online    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Guterres: Vaccines should be considered 'global public goods'
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 06 - 2021

Lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines should be considered "global public goods", the UN chief told journalists on Friday, covering the G7 Summit of leading industrialized nations taking place in the United Kingdom.
Speaking via videolink in London, Secretary-General António Guterres said there was no other way of defeating a virus that spreads across developing countries "like wildfire" and risks mutating, other than through equitable, mass vaccination, adding that shots need to be "available and affordable to all".
"That is not only a matter of fairness and justice but it's also a question of efficiency", he said, pointing out that mutations "abide by Darwin's laws of evolution" — meaning that the worst viruses tend to survive, multiply and eventually disable the vaccines.
Vaccination programs so far, have been "unequal and very unfair", the UN chief said.
Reasons for hope
Guterres said he was encouraged by the announcement made ahead of the G7, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) together with the World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO), regarding a $50 billion program to support vaccination delivery in developing countries.
He was also heartened by the recent announcements of the United States and United Kingdom to donate more than half a billion doses to nations least able to afford them.
Guterres welcomed UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement that he expects the G7 to provide a billion pledged doses by the end of the summit.
At war with the virus
"We are at war" with the coronavirus, he said, that continues to cause "tremendous suffering" and destroy the global economy. To defeat the virus, we must "boost our weapons", he added, calling for a "global vaccination plan".
The secretary-general spoke of his proposal for vaccine-producing countries to come together in an emergency task force supported by WHO, the vaccine alliance GAVI and international financial institutions to define and implement a plan.
"We need really those who have the power...to organize an effective response to COVID and the only way to be effective...is guaranteeing that everybody will be vaccinated sooner rather than later," he said.
G7's climate action
The UN chief said climate action was his other priority for the first in-person G7 meeting since the pandemic began, as the world's average temperature continues to rise, almost to the point where the international scientific community says is "the limit" to avoid "catastrophic developments".
"To a certain extent, we are on the verge of the abyss and...we need to make sure that the next step is in the right direction", he said calling on the G7 to create a global net zero coalition for 2050; to support adaptation for the resilience of populations and societies; and to finance developing countries so they may target mitigation and address the climate change impacts already upon them.
Paving the way forward
In closing, the secretary-general expressed hope that the G7 meeting "will help pave the way for new and important decisions in the future".
"I think it is absolutely essential to guarantee that" through the COP 26 [UN climate conference] in Glasgow, he said, warning that it may prove to be "the last opportunity" to make the right decisions. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.