Pacific leaders target unequal impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable in region

Funafuti: Pacific Islands Forum leaders have drafted a statement to be considered at the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on COVID-19 in December.

In its search for a collective response to COVID-19, the Pacific Islands Forum says there is a need to address the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic on vulnerable groups in the region.

Forum leaders aim to send a strong message to the world when they present a statement to be considered at the special session of the United Nations General Assembly on COVID-19 in December.

The document, Protecting the Health and Well-being of the Blue Pacific, is part of the region’s response to the impacts of the global pandemic.

Following the Pacific Foreign Ministers Conference last week, meeting chair Simon Kofe from Tuvalu said Forum members were working on a collective response to COVID-19. And driving this is the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway for COVID-19, Mr Kofe said.

The ministers discussed the urgent need to look into how the pandemic had impacted vulnerable groups in the region.

Mr Kofe said these groups included the disabled, the elderly, and women and girls. “The Pacific Humanitarian Pathway for Covid-19 continues to drive an effective Pacific-led regional response as Forum nations look for similar collective responses to the widespread cost-cutting impacts of the pandemic,” he said.

“Recognising the severe health and social impacts of COVID-19 on the Blue Pacific, ministers discussed their comprehensive list of further policy considerations for strengthening collective response efforts to the pandemic.”