G7 chalks out historic pandemic pact
On Day 2 of their annual summit in UK, leaders of the world’s seven richest nations draw up an action plan to tackle future pandemics
CARBIS BAY, UK: Britain on Saturday acclaimed a “historic” action plan by G7 nations to prevent future pandemics, as the elite group showcased Us-led unity against China and Russia at its first in-person summit in almost two years.
The “Carbis Bay Declaration” - named after the seaside town in Cornwall in England, where US President Joe Biden and other leaders are meeting this weekend - comprises a series of health policy commitments.
The collective steps include slashing the time taken to develop and licence vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days, while reinforcing global surveillance networks.
It will be formally published on Sunday, alongside the G7’s final communique.
#Carbisbaydeclaration
“The #Carbisbaydeclaration marks a proud and historic moment for us all,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted, as he chaired the second day of the three-day summit.
“Under this agreement, the world’s leading democracies will commit to preventing a global pandemic from ever happening again, ensuring the devastation caused by Covid-19 is never repeated,” he said.
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, criticised in some quarters for being too accommodating towards China where the coronavirus originated, welcomed the health pact.
And he said the UN agency would examine a British proposal to create a “Global Pandemic Radar” to send early warnings of future outbreaks.
“The world needs a stronger global surveillance system to detect new epidemic and pandemic risks,” Tedros said.
However, aid charity Oxfam said the declaration “does nothing to address the fundamental problems that are preventing vaccines being accessible to the vast majority of humanity”.
‘Building back better’
The G7 - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - is largely focused on “building back better” after Covid-19 wrecked economies and claimed millions of lives around the world.
The seven governments are expected to pledge to donate one billion vaccine doses to poor countries this year and next although campaigners say the roll-out is much too slow to end the crisis sooner.
The leaders are also set to issue new commitments on the climate crisis, including financial aid for the developing world, in the buildup to the UN’S COP26 environmental summit in Scotland in November.
Tackling China
Biden is expected to press allies to bolster cooperation in dealing with a resurgent China, from offering an alternative to its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative to confronting its alleged forced labour practices including against the Uighur minority.
“This is not just about confronting or taking on China,” a senior White House official said. “This is about providing an affirmative, positive alternative vision for the world.”
Over the first two days, blimps of Biden and Johnson floated off the Cornish coast as hundreds of protesters targeted the G7 summit in southwest England to demand action on the climate, poverty and Covid-19.
As leaders of some of the world’s richest nations gather in picturesque Cornwall, so have dozens of campaign groups that want to court publicity for their causes and send a message to the Western political elite.
Hundreds of climate activists, donning colourful dresses and innovative gear as a symbol of warning, gathered in St Ives, just a stone’s throw from the heavily guarded G7 summit venue at Carbis Bay, and demonstrated along the beach.