Coordinated efforts needed to fight COVID-19 pandemic – UN SG

…says harder times ahead if climate crisis persists

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has cautioned of the need for coordinated approaches to bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in reaching the 40 per cent target for vaccination.

In his year-end press stakeout on Thursday, he asserted, “We cannot defeat the pandemic in an uncoordinated way. All countries, especially those that have the potential of responsibilities, must take concrete action in the coming days to make greater progress to achieve WHO’s global 40 per cent target, and be far more ambitious in their efforts to reach 70 per cent of people in all countries by the middle of 2022.”
As the pandemic rages on, he pointed out, inequalities have kept on rising. He said the burden for developing countries has grown heavier – with diminishing resources for recovery, rising inflation and mounting debt.
“To add fuel to the fire, we are still off track in addressing the climate crisis – another amplifier of global injustice and inequality. I am deeply worried. If things do not improve – and improve fast – we face even harder times ahead.”
The United Nations has mobilised for COVID-19 response and recovery. Some two months ago, the World Health Organization unveiled a strategy to vaccinate 40 per cent of people in all countries by the end of the year, and 70 per cent by the middle of next year.
That strategy requires the total commitment of Member States – especially those with vaccine-production capabilities or large supplies. Just days away from the deadline, 98 countries have not been able to meet that end-of-year target.
He reported that 40 of them have not yet even been able to vaccinate 10 per cent of their population.
Meanwhile, in lower-income countries, less than four per cent of the population are fully vaccinated. And the vaccination rates in high-income countries are eight times higher than in the countries of Africa. At current rates, Africa will not meet the 70 per cent threshold until August 2024.
“Vaccine inequity is giving variants a free pass to run wild — ravaging the health of people and economies in every corner of the globe… COVID-19 is not going away; it is becoming clear that vaccines alone will not eradicate the pandemic. Vaccines are averting hospitalisation and death for the majority who get them, and slowing the spread; but transmissions show no sign of letting up. This is driven by vaccine inequity, hesitancy and complacency,” Guterres related.
According to the Secretary-General, lopsided COVID-19 recovery efforts are accelerating inequalities and increasing stresses on economies and people.
“Advanced economies were able to mobilise nearly 28 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product into economic recovery. For middle-income countries, that number fell to 6.5 per cent. And even worse, it plummeted to 1.8 per cent for the least developed countries — a tiny percentage of a very small amount.”
Guterres pointed out that the current global financial system is supercharging inequalities and instability. It is a system that allows credit rating agencies to undermine the credibility of developing countries with good growth prospects and vital development needs. Consequently, this makes private finance more risk averse, and international financial institutions alone do not have sufficient capacities to compensate.
“Meanwhile, inequalities keep widening. Social upheaval and polarisation will be growing, and the risks keep increasing. This is a powder keg for social unrest and instability. It poses a clear and present danger to democratic institutions. It is time to clearly assume the need for reform of the international financial system.”
These points, he cautioned, are linked to two governance failures. As such, it calls for more attention to address these deficits.
“We have a serious governance problem with respect to the prevention, detection and response to pandemics. And we have a serious governance problem in relation to the international financial system. I am determined that 2022 must be the year in which we finally address the deficits in both governance systems, and this is a central aspect of the common agenda. In making those much-needed reforms, we will move to a much more fair, peaceful and sustainable world,” the UN official outlined.