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76th UNGA – Remarks by President Draghi at the “Global Covid-19 Summit”

 

Secretary Blinken,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to thank Secretary Blinken for chairing this meeting and for giving me the opportunity to share a few closing remarks.

Global cooperation is essential to end this pandemic and to prevent future health emergencies.
The Global Health Summit held last May in Rome is a good example of what effective multilateralism can achieve.
Countries and pharmaceutical companies pledged doses of vaccines and funding for vulnerable countries.
And in the Rome Declaration we committed to a set of common principles to be better prepared to face the next health threat.

We have made great progress since then.
More than 2.5 billion people are fully vaccinated worldwide.
And close to one billion more are partly vaccinated.
However, as many others have noted in this discussion, we are still witnessing great inequalities in the availability of vaccines worldwide.

Multilateral mechanisms, such as the ACT-Accelerator and COVAX, remain the most effective ways to deliver vaccines efficiently and to build the necessary capacity to administer them.
We must stand by the pledges we have made to these programmes, and stand ready to make more generous ones.
We must also offer adequate logistical support to ensure that vaccines reach those who need them the most.
Because, as productive capacity expands, the main challenge will be how to transport vaccines, not how to make them.
At the Global Health Summit, Italy pledged to donate 15 million doses by the end of the year, primarily through COVAX.
Nearly half of those have already been distributed.
Today I am glad to announce that we stand ready to triple our efforts.
We will donate 30 million additional doses by the end of the year, reaching 45 million.

As we work to end this pandemic, we must improve our preparation for future ones.
We need to expand the production capacity of vaccines and of all medical tools worldwide, and especially in the most vulnerable countries.
We support the European Union’s plan to devote 1 billion euros to develop a number of regional manufacturing hubs in Africa and foster technology transfer.
We also welcome the new EU-US agenda to foster our common efforts for global vaccination.
One of the weaknesses of our global response to the Covid-19 pandemic has been insufficient coordination between health and financial authorities.
As G20 Presidency, we intend to establish the Global Health and Finance Board.
This structured forum will enhance global cooperation in the governance and financing for pandemics prevention, preparedness, and response.
It will support the collaboration between the G20, the WHO, the World Bank and other international organizations.
We welcome the US proposal to establish a Financial Intermediary Fund.
This initiative would be fully complementary with the Global Health and Finance Board.

Health is a global public good and must be preserved everywhere.
Let me thank again President Biden for his leadership in promoting this event.
Rest assured that the next G20 Summit in Rome will build on today’s outcome.

Thank you.

 

Presidenza Consiglio dei Ministri – Onu, intervento del Presidente Draghi al “Global Covid-19 Summit”