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Vaccine inequities are in sharp focus as the G20 meets this weekend in Rome. “Where are the doses,” top representatives with United Nation agencies and humanitarian organisations have asked the heads of these wealthy G20 nations, urging them to keep their commitments from the G7 meeting, months ago.
Two open letters addressing the G20 leaders place some stark data on existing inequities.
“For every 100 people in high-income countries, 133 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered, while in low-income countries, only 4 doses per 100 people have been administered,” said an open letter from WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Flippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees and António Vitorino, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Chief, calling for vaccines to be accessible to migrants, refugees and other displaced people.
Speaking for millions struggling to survive the pandemic far from home, they said, “Some have been forced to flee wars, conflict, persecution and human rights violations. Others are on the move to escape socioeconomic hardship or the consequences of climate change.”
The letter also comes ahead of the COP26 (Conference of Parties) meeting next week in Glasgow (Scotland), where climate is the agenda.
Promises fall short
Another open letter, also addressed to the G20 leaders said, when the world’s wealthiest nations met at the G7 Summit in June, they collectively announced one billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines to low-and-middle-income countries. Pharmaceutical companies pledged almost the same, the letter adds.
However, several nations still did not have enough vaccines for their health workers, the letter said, adding., the world is left asking, “Where are the doses?”.
Of about seven billion doses administered globally, just 3 per cent of people in low-income countries have had a jab so far, the letter noted. The WHO-supported COVAX, designed to help global access to Covid vaccines, has been promised 1.3 billion doses for low-income countries, “yet it has been able to ship only 150 million – 11.5 per cent – to date. Where are the rest?,” the letter said, adding, “Promises aren’t translating into vaccines reaching the people that need them.”
Mincing no words, the letter said, “These are public vaccines. Many of the people you represent paid for the research and development of these vaccines.” The global target is to vaccinate 40 percent of all countries by end 2021 and 70 per cent by the middle of next year. “Decisions made this weekend may make or break those targets,” the letter said.
Support IP waiver
Urging countries to “close the 550 million dose gap”, by speeding up commitments and pledging new ones, removing export restrictions and executing dose swaps, the letter said, pharmaceutical companies needed to be held “to higher transparency standards, including publicly shared monthly production projections and delivery schedules to help countries better plan to receive and share doses.”
The letter called for technology sharing and support for the waiver of intellectual property during the pandemic – a proposal made by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organisation, last October. The second letter was from the WHO Chief, and UK’s Harry and Meghan, besides the heads of organisations including Save the Children International, Gavi and UNAIDS.
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