Lack of coordination will prolong pandemic and cost lives, says UN chief

NEW YORK: UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that a lack of global coordination in efforts to end the coronavirus crisis will prolong the pandemic and cause more deaths, particularly in poorer countries. In a video message released as the global COVID-19 death toll reached the “heart-wrenching” milestone of 2 million lives lost, he appealed for countries to work more closely together to end the pandemic and its cycle of death.

It took 10 months after the disease emerged in December 2019 to reach the first “grim milestone” of 1 million dead at the end of September last year. That number has now doubled in less than four months. In addition to the human cost, the pandemic has wreaked havoc in the economies of almost every nation. Many people have lost their jobs and livelihoods, with millions forced into poverty and hunger worldwide.

Guterres said that behind that staggering 2 million figure are the names and faces of real people who were taken from their families. “The smile now only a memory, the seat forever empty at the dinner table, the room that echoes with the silence of a loved one,” Guterres said as he calling for greater international solidarity “in memory of those two million souls.” As safe and effective vaccines are approved and rolled out, the UN is supporting the largest global immunization operation in history. Guterres stressed that the organization is committed to ensuring vaccines are treated as a global public resource — the “people’s vaccines.”

With that in mind, he called for full funding of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator — a global collaboration that aims to speed up the development, production, and equitable distribution of vaccines, ensuring fair access to them — and its COVAX Facility, an initiative involving 64 higher-income countries that are working to ensure vaccines reach all those in most dire need. It was set up in response to a call by G20 leaders in March last year and launched the following month by the WHO and partners including the EU, France, the UK, Canada, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“The world’s leading economies have a special responsibility,” said Guterres, denouncing what he described as “a vaccine vacuum” created by rich countries buying up vaccine supplies, leaving none for the world’s poorest nations. Some countries are “pursuing side deals, even procuring beyond need,” he added. While all governments have a responsibility to protect their populations, Guterres warned that indulging in such a “vaccination list” is self-defeating and will delay a global recovery.

“COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time,” he added. The UN chief called on all countries to share excess doses of vaccine so that health workers around the world can be inoculated as a matter of urgency to prevent the collapse of health systems, and so that those on the front line of the battle against the pandemic and its effects can be prioritized, including humanitarian workers and people in high-risk populations.

As the virus continues to spiral out of control in a number of countries, Guterres urged caution and called on everyone to take precautions to protect the most vulnerable in society and slow the spread of infections. “As the science continues to blaze new trails of hope, let’s also remember the simple and proven steps we can all take to keep each other safe: wearing masks, physically distancing, and avoiding crowds,” he added.