Alex Harris, Director of Government Relations at
Wellcome, said:
“This G7 summit was the moment for bold, historic leadership to
commit the resources needed to end the Covid crisis. That
opportunity has sadly been missed.
“Pledges of close to one billion doses of vaccine are to be
welcomed, along with plans for a raft of other important
initiatives. These include increasing manufacturing capacity,
global surveillance and genomic sequencing, and strengthening
health systems. But the gap between these ambitions and what the
world actually needs is still huge.
“The virus shows little sign of slowing its decimation of
communities and economies globally. G7 leaders rightly
acknowledge suffering will not end for any country until the
pandemic is under control everywhere – so their actions will need
to be delivered with urgency.
“A commitment to share 870 million vaccine doses will only have
the impact needed if these are shared now and within six months,
not over the next year. We strongly urge G7 leaders to reconsider
their goal of one billion doses within 12 months. At this rate,
just 10.3% of the population of low-and-middle income countries
would be vaccinated by this deal. Rather, we should be aiming to
vaccinate 70% of the world’s population in the next 12 months,
which will require 11 billion doses, and fully fund the ACT
Accelerator.
“The G7 leaders are right, however, to work towards better
preparing for future pandemics, increasing support for those who
can deliver this, to ensure the world is never in this position
again. Investment is long overdue in the essential reinforcement
of our local, national and international disease surveillance
network.
“To consign this crisis to history, and to prove worthy of
leadership to be remembered by history, the G7 must move fast on
their pledges and not hesitate in finding more opportunities to
go further, faster.”
-ENDS-
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