UN chief urges G20 to lead pandemic ending effort partnering with UN

United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres on Friday urged the Group of 20 (G20) countries to take the leading role in ending the COVID-19 pandemic by partnering with the United Nations.

“I urge G20 countries, in collaboration with the United Nations, to assume a strong leadership role in ending this devastating global pandemic,” the UN chief told the Global Health Summit, a virtual daylong conference aimed at co-ordinating worldwide efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking about the global effort to contain the virus, the top UN official said that grossly unequal access to vaccines, tests, medicines and supplies, including oxygen, have left poorer countries at the mercy of the virus.

“Recent surges of COVID-19 in India, South America and other regions have left people literally gasping for breath before our eyes,” he said.

“The pandemic is still very much with us, thriving and mutating,” he warned. Mr Guterres said that vaccinating quickly and thoroughly around the world, together with continued public health measures, are the only way to end the pandemic and prevent more dangerous variants from gaining a foothold.

“But so far, more than 82 per cent of the world’s vaccine doses have gone to affluent countries. Just 0.3 per cent have gone to low-income countries,” he said.

“I repeat my call for the G20 to set up a Task Force that brings together all countries with vaccine production capacities, the World Health Organisation, the ACT-Accelerator partners and international financial institutions, able to deal with the pharmaceutical companies and other key stakeholders,” he added.