By Irene Gaitirira
Published May 24, 2021
Health Ministers of the 54 Commonwealth member countries have expressed deep concern over the stark gaps in access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccine doses, especially in poorer countries, and called for what they termed as ‘fair and transparent’ pricing for the vaccines.
Calling for swift and equal access to COVID-19 vaccines for everyone around the world, the Ministers on May 21, 2021 expressed concern that only 0.3 per cent of the life-saving vaccine doses have been administered in 29 poor countries while about 84 per cent of shots have been given in high and upper-middle-income countries.
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“We must talk with each other to move away from some stockpiling vaccines, while many low-middle income countries still do not have access to the much-needed vaccines supplies for the vulnerable populations in their countries. So, co-operation to develop a global immunisation plan to deliver equal access to vaccines must be a top priority,” said Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. “The rise of new variants shows that until everyone is safe no one is safe. No plan to tackle this virus will work until everyone agrees to work together.
In a statement issued to the media on May 21, the Ministers appreciated COVAX, the global vaccine equity initiative, and encouraged all partners to support government efforts on boosting vaccine confidence and immunisation drives.
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The Ministers stressed enhanced collaboration with scientists, academics and business leaders to bridge what they referred to as the acute gaps in research and development of new tests, vaccines and therapies in the Commonwealth.
The ministers not only backed a potential treaty on the fight against pandemics and a Commonwealth mechanism to share and distribute extra medical supplies such as ventilators and medicines, but also called on Heads of Government to allocate resources for strengthening health systems, especially through primary health care, towards attaining universal health coverage.
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“Vaccines are reducing severe disease and death in countries that are fortunate enough to have them in sufficient quantities, and early results suggest that vaccines might also drive down transmission,” observed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), in his guest address during the health ministers’meeting held virtually May 20 – 21, 2021. “The shocking global disparity in access to vaccines remains one of the biggest risks to ending the pandemic. We seek the support of the Commonwealth in solving the global vaccine crisis by funding the ACT Accelerator, advocating for greater sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property, and sharing doses with COVAX.”
