United Nations: One in five children globally have received no vaccines at all as the coronavirus crisis has halted immunisation campaigns. This was disclosed by United Nations chief Antonio Guterres here Thursday. Antonio Guterres voiced concern over the widening gaps in the global vaccine delivery. He called for safe ways to continue delivering vaccinations amid the pandemic.
In his message to the GAVI’s virtual ‘Global Vaccine Summit’, the UN secretary general said the COVID-19 pandemic is the ‘greatest public health crisis of our generation’. He asserted that a vaccine to treat the disease must be made available to all.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is a United Nations backed organisation which coordinates vaccinations across the world.
“A COVID-19 vaccine must be seen as a global public good – a people’s vaccine, which a growing number of world leaders are calling for,” Guterres said. He added that when the vaccine becomes available, it must be seen that it reaches everyone.
The UN chief voiced concern that the coronavirus pandemic has impacted global immunization campaigns and children are missing out on receiving critical vaccinations.
“Twenty million children are missing their full complement of vaccines. And one in five has received no vaccines at all. Now, under the shadow of COVID-19, their plight is even more desperate,” Guterres said. He asserted that immunisation campaigns are being halted and gaps in global vaccine delivery could grow wider.
Guterres also urged the international community to commit to find safe ways to continue delivering vaccinations, even as COVID-19 spreads and that networks f vaccine-delivery are used to deliver arrange of other primary health services.
Underscoring that a COVID-19 vaccine by itself is not enough, Guterres stressed the need for global solidarity to ensure that every person, everywhere, has access to it.
The Summit celebrates the life saving miracle of a vaccination, the most important public health intervention in history that saves tens of millions of lives every year, he said.
Emphasizing that diseases know no borders, Guterres said a fully-funded GAVI will be critical to ensure nations continue the progress towards the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’.
Agencies