Urges To Share COVID-19 Vaccines As Much And As Soon As Possible, Foreign Minister Retno: Otherwise, WHO's Target Will Not Be Achieved

Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, emphasized the importance of sharing the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible and as much as possible, in her position as one of the Co-Chairs of Covax AMC Engagement Group.

This was conveyed by Foreign Minister Retno at the COVID-19 Ministerial Conference meeting which was held virtually, with the United States Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antony Blinken, as the host of the 10 November meeting yesterday.

"Share as much and as quickly as possible. If that's not done, the WHO target of vaccinating 40 percent of the population of every country by the end of 2020 and 70 percent of the population by mid-2022 will not be achieved. And I'm afraid the world will not be able to get out of the pandemic together", said Foreign Minister Retno in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on November 11.

According to Foreign Minister Retno, these are short-term challenges that must be met by the world, apart from long-term and short-term challenges that must be faced by emphasizing two things.

First, strengthening global health governance. This is done by maintaining the central role of WHO in coordinating global health actions. Ensure WHO obtains the necessary financing to carry out its mandate.

"The new pandemic treaty is expected to help ensure pandemic preparedness at the highest political level, ensure equitable distribution of medical solutions, and strengthen international cooperation in early detection and information sharing", said Foreign Minister Retno.

Next, strengthening health funding support for developing countries to improve preparedness for the next pandemic. There is a need for a new global financing mechanism supported by donor countries and international financial institutions.

As G20 President in 2022, Foreign Minister Retno continued, Indonesia asked for support for the G-20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force in designing the modalities of the mechanism.

"This mechanism will bring benefits to all of us. Only then can we recover stronger together. Recover Together, Recover Stronger", said Foreign Minister Retno.

Meanwhile, on the same occasion the Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, revealed that around 550 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine are needed for this year alone, to implement global vaccination.

The WHO Director-General said international community support was needed to share vaccines, increase local vaccine production capacity, and support funding.

In addition, the Director-General of WHO also conveyed the importance of strengthening global health governance. The political commitment of countries is needed to support the successful formation of new legal instruments related to the pandemic.

A similar message was also raised by the Foreign Ministers who attended the meeting, underscoring the importance of equitable access to vaccines and increasing the vaccine production capacity of developing countries.

This virtual meeting also conveyed support for the establishment of a new health financing mechanism, strengthening research and innovation cooperation, and strengthening multilateralism in anticipating the next pandemic.

To note, the COVID-19 Ministerial Meeting is a limited meeting organized by the US Government, as a follow-up to the September 2021 Global COVID Summit led by President Joe Biden.

The meeting which was attended by 28 ministers and representatives of international organizations from various countries, including the Director-General of WHO, the President of the World Bank, and the Managing Director of the IMF, took the theme 'Global Direction and Building the Capacity We Need: Creating platforms to sustain financing, regional collaboration, and political leadership. .'