{"id":16943,"date":"2022-02-26T20:01:50","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T20:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination"},"modified":"2022-02-26T20:28:49","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T20:28:49","slug":"general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination","title":{"rendered":"General Assembly holds debate to boost momentum for universal COVID-19 vaccination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Addressing a high-level debate on universal vaccination, Abdulla Shahid highlighted the persistent inequity in access to these lifesaving medicines and the failure of the international community to protect everyone against the disease.<\/p>\n

Immoral and impractical<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cLet me be clear: vaccine inequity is immoral, and it is impractical,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

he said, speaking from the iconic UN General Assembly Hall in New York. As of Friday, there were more than 428.5 million cases of COVID-19 globally, and 5.9 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n

Mr. Shahid said that although more than 10 billion vaccines have been administered around the world so far \u2013 enough to inoculate every person on the planet \u2013 some 83 per cent of the population of the African Union (AU) has yet to receive a single dose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not okay that 27 countries have vaccinated less than 10 per cent of their populations while others are rolling out boosters or lifting restrictions entirely,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

he said.<\/p>\n

Strength in solidarity<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr. Shahid convened the day-long debate to galvanize momentum towards ensuring everyone can receive vaccines, bringing together world leaders, senior UN officials, civil society and non-profit representatives, private sector stakeholders, front-line first responders and even celebrities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the pandemic has shown us anything, it is the importance of collective action \u2013 that our strength lies in solidarity,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

he said. In a video message to the meeting, UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres called vaccine inequity \u201ca moral indictment of our times\u201d, as it costs lives, damages economies, and allows the virus to circulate and mutate.<\/p>\n

Prioritize COVAX initiative<\/b><\/p>\n

For the UN chief, galvanizing momentum means that countries step up vaccine dose-sharing, as well as donations, to the COVAX solidarity mechanism. \u201cIt means manufacturers prioritizing and fulfilling vaccine contracts with COVAX, ensuring full transparency on monthly production and creating the conditions for the local or regional production of tests, vaccines and treatments,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

At the same time, pharmaceutical companies must share licenses, know-how and technology to support vaccine production across regions. Funding from donors and international financial institutions also needs to be ramped up, as does the fight against the \u201cplague\u201d of vaccine misinformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen hopeful progress when supply is secured and predictable \u2026 when doses are donated with ample shelf-life \u2026 and when there is a deep understanding of what a country needs to accelerate vaccinations,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

said Mr. Guterres.<\/p>\n

Ensure fair and full access<\/b><\/p>\n

The President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Collen Vixen Kelapile, addressed the dichotomy of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the one hand, the crisis has shattered lives and livelihoods, among other fallouts, and wiped out advances in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, he added that it has also shown the best humanity can achieve, with the development of vaccines in record time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extent to which we are able to ensure fair and equal access to the vaccines will determine the ability of the most vulnerable countries to recover from the pandemic,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will determine whether the world can truly overcome the pandemic, and embark on a sustainable recovery and achieve the SDGs.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Against use of force in Ukraine<\/b><\/p>\n

Prior to the start of the debate, the General Assembly President spoke about the burgeoning crisis in Ukraine, following the start of Russia\u2019s so-called \u201cspecial military operation\u201d this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis military operation undermines global security and stability, and is inconsistent with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations,\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

he said. Recalling a statement that he issued on Thursday, Mr. Shahid underlined that \u201cthe use of force and coercion has no place in the 21st century.\u201d UN Health News<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. Addressing a high-level debate on universal vaccination, Abdulla Shahid highlighted the persistent inequity in access to these lifesaving medicines and the failure of the international community to protect everyone against the disease. Immoral and impractical \u201cLet me be clear: vaccine inequity is immoral, and it is impractical,\u201d he said, speaking from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":16942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[233,371,234],"class_list":["post-16943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nGeneral Assembly holds debate to boost momentum for universal COVID-19 vaccination - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Addressing a high-level debate on universal vaccination, Abdulla Shahid highlighted the persistent inequity in access to ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"General Assembly holds debate to boost momentum for universal COVID-19 vaccination\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Addressing a high-level debate on universal vaccination, Abdulla Shahid highlighted the persistent inequity in access to ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-26T20:01:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-26T20:28:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2022\/02\/img-621a8d694c13c.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"770\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"420\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"General Assembly holds debate to boost momentum for universal COVID-19 vaccination\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-26T20:01:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-26T20:28:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination\"},\"wordCount\":617,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2022\/02\/img-621a8d694c13c.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Malawi\",\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/general-assembly-holds-debate-to-boost-momentum-for-universal-covid-19-vaccination\",\"name\":\"General Assembly holds debate to boost momentum for universal COVID-19 vaccination - 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