BY STAFF REPORTER
We repeatedly hear a saying “No one is safe from COVID-19 until everyone is safe,” to show the cunning features of the pandemic.
True, COVID-19 does not discriminate and can hit anyone at anytime and anyplace; regardless of any differences can snatch us our dearest and closest ones, disrupt our day-to-day lives and wreak havoc on our society.
To this end, strengthening collaboration and solidarity in every aspect is not only necessary but it is also mandatory. Especially, as we live in an interconnected world where such kind of pandemic affects all of us together, solidarity among communities and across borders is of greater importance to beat the diseases.
This is though the reality that the world communities have encountered and is an inevitable phenomenon that global countries have faced; there are tendencies to turn back on poorer countries, especially in ensuring equitable COVID-19 vaccine access to African countries.
This limitation has been distressing not only those poorer countries whose health systems are weak, but also various international organizations, such as WHO, UNICEF among others.
Following the announcement pledged by G7 leaders to donate 870 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries, UNICEF has welcomed the decision and extended its gratitude. Simultaneously, it has urged for accelerated timetable, in its statement issued recently.
“We welcome the commitment made this week by leaders of G7 nations to accelerate the rollout of safe, effective, accessible and affordable vaccines for the poorest countries, with a goal toward ending the pandemic in 2022. Equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines represents the clearest pathway out of this pandemic for all of us — children included, and commitments announced by G7 members last week are an important step in this direction, said UNICEF in a statement it issued last week.
UNICEF is particularly pleased that some of the dose donations will be made available immediately to supplement ongoing shortfalls. However, time is still of the critical essence, it added.
Thanking G7 member states for their pledges and continued support and all organization’s ambassadors and supporters who are sharing its voices in extending a call for immediate and significant dose donations, it said ” If we are to make good on the collective pledge of ending the pandemic next year, much work remains.”
“Even as many citizens in high-income countries begin to contemplate post-vaccination life, in low-income countries, the future appears quite bleak. More people have died of COVID-19 already this year than in the whole of 2020, led by outbreaks in numerous countries where vaccines remain out of reach. We are particularly worried about the surges in South America, Asia and Africa.”
As the pandemic rages, the virus mutates and produces new variants that could potentially threaten the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. Donating doses now is smart policy that speaks to our collective best interests, as to the statement.
In addition to these generous vaccine pledges, UNICEF and the many organizations and countries involved with distribution and readiness need clear timelines regarding when the vaccines will be available. This is a particularly important element for successfully delivering the vaccines in countries with poor health infrastructure.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the lives of children, affecting every aspect of their lives: their health, education, protection and future prosperity. Now, more than ever, what we do today will have significant and lasting impact on our collective tomorrows. There is no time to waste. UNICEF
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD JUNE 17 /2021
