Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi Invites Countries And World Organizations To Support Financing For The COVAX Facility

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. (Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi invited all countries in the world to reject the hoarding, politicization and nationalism of the COVID-19 vaccine.

This was conveyed by him at the GAVI-COVAX Facility meeting entitled 'Investment Opportunity' which was held virtually on April 15, 2021.

“Nearly 1 in 4 people in high-income countries has been vaccinated. Meanwhile, in low-income countries, only 1 in 500 people have been vaccinated, "he said.

"All countries must unite to reject hoarding and vaccine nationalism. Vaccine politicization must also be eliminated, because it has the potential to cause geopolitical divisions," Foreign Minister Retno continued.

The meeting, attended by a number of heads of state, high-ranking state officials, international organizations and major pharmaceutical companies, aims to raise funds to meet global vaccine needs coordinated by the COVAX Facility. To meet the target of providing 1.8 billion doses of vaccine by 2021, an additional fund of at least 2 billion dollars is still needed. D.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Retno also expressed her appreciation for the delivery of 38 million vaccines to 100 countries on 6 continents through the COVAX Facility scheme. This is proof that multilateralism can produce concrete results.

"The COVAX Facility requires the support of all of us, and each country is responsible for ensuring equal access to vaccines. Each party must be more committed and take action to ensure the implementation of vaccine production and distribution in a timely manner, and increase the scale of vaccine production," he explained.

This is not just a moral obligation, but a common interest to make sure everyone is safe. Global solidarity must be put forward, "added Foreign Minister Retno.

At this meeting, a funding commitment of nearly 400 million US dollars was obtained from Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Germany, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This fundraising campaign will continue, including through the GAVI COVAX AMC Summit which will be held in Japan in June 2021, chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.