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The organization’s CEO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyes, has condemned the “I’m first” attitude of rich countries, as well as the vaccine manufacturer, who is vying for approval of the vaccine in rich countries instead. to submit their data to WHO to enable vaccines to be used around the world.
Opening the WHO Executive Board meeting in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the promise of ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world is now in grave jeopardy.
According to the head of the WHO, 39 million have already been used. vaccine doses in at least 49 higher income countries. At the time, “only 25 doses were injected in one of the lowest-income countries,” he said, noting: “Not 25 million, not 25 thousand, only 25.”
“I have to speak out: the world is on the brink of a catastrophic moral collapse, and the cost of that collapse will be paid in lives and livelihoods in the world’s poorest countries,” he said.
While some countries assured them equal opportunities, they prioritized their own contracts with producers, raised prices and tried to step out of line, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
According to him, in 2020, 44 such contracts were concluded and, after the New Year, at least 12 more were signed.
“The situation is compounded by the fact that most manufacturers prefer regulatory approval in rich countries, where profits are higher, rather than providing complete dossiers to the WHO,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“This ‘me first’ principle not only puts the world’s poorest and most vulnerable at risk, it is also doomed to failure,” he said. “Ultimately, these actions will only prolong the pandemic, prolong our pain, the limitations you need to manage, and the human and economic suffering.”
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