We need to close the vaccination gap between advanced economies and developing countries to avoid what Tedros Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization, has called “vaccination apartheid.” Doing so is both morally right and in everyone’s interest. Therefore, we need global multilateral action to increase the production of vaccines and accelerate the roll out worldwide. It is now also the path defined by the G20 leaders at the Global Health Summit in Rome on 21 May. If the vaccination gap persists, it risks reversing the trend in recent decades of declining poverty and global inequalities. Our common global COVID-19 vaccine action to close the vaccination gap must be the first step toward a genuine global health cooperation, as foreseen by the Rome Declaration recently adopted at the Global Health Summit.

Source: Philippine Star June 02, 2021 15:56 UTC