Global accord can help stall virus impact

Amid the gloom and doom triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, comes a sliver of sunlight. That is, if the UN head’s statement on the vaccines is anything to go by. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the remarkable and quick progress of COVID-19 vaccines offers “great hope” that the painful pandemic can be conquered.

He made the remark virtually at the first International Forum on COVID-19 Vaccine Cooperation which was held in Beijing.

Guterres is pitching for a Global Vaccine Plan to halt the pandemic, which has claimed over four million lives, in its tracks.

The meet shows that global vaccine diplomacy is being revved up to promote fair distribution.

A pact inked with UN-led equitable vaccine distribution initiative, COVAX, to provide Sinopharm and Sinovac shots is very welcome. The accord highlights potential supplies of more than 500 million doses. But, and this is the tricky part, Guterres said that over 11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate 70 per cent of the global population.

Now this is a huge task, and remains to be seen how long the concerted effort will take to meet its goal. There is also the need for an Emergency Task Force at the G20 level to coordinate its implementation.

To double the number of vaccines to be made, there has to be more sharing of technology and expertise. The forum was held through a video conference and with representatives from over 20 countries.

The UAE, which is taking part in this forum, has spotlighted the importance of global collaboration to speed up the manufacture of Covid vaccines.

There is no doubt that the UAE has been in the frontlines of stemming the spread of the virus along with the international community. Since the beginning of the outbreak, the UAE continues to disburse urgent medical supplies globally to support the efforts of various nations to contain the pandemic.

The virus is powerful, which accounts for the fact that it is still going on the rampage more than one and a half years after it was first spotted.

The UAE has dispatched over 2,000 tonnes of medical supplies to more than 135 countries, particularly throughout Africa and Asia.

It is also a major hub for supplies to combat the pandemic through the International Humanitarian City. It shipped 80 per cent of total global medical supplies and preventative equipment in response to the pandemic.

Furthermore, the UAE has also propped up the setting up of fully-equipped field hospitals (Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Field Hospitals) in Jordan, Guinea-Conakry, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Lebanon, and most recently in Mauritania. These hospitals have contributed to increasing the capacity of health authorities in containing COVID-19.

Al Hashemy has put all the resources of supplies and transport at its disposal, so that the vaccines can be quickly delivered around the world to those who badly need it. In short it covered nearly 3.6 billion people around the world.

The Hope Consortium initiative, Al Hashemy said, has provided over 60 million vaccine doses to 40 countries since its launch by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2020. It is one of the largest and most integrated logistical solutions to provide vaccines to the global community.

More recently, the UAE has also said it would donate$50 million to the COVAX initiative to rev up vaccine transport and delivery around the world.

Al Hashimy also referred to the recent collaboration with China to host the first COVID-19 vaccine production project in the UAE “Hayat Vax”, an advantage added to international efforts facing the COVID-19 crisis.

While the virus is going northwards in many countries, it goes to the credit of the UAE government that it has been able to tamp down the dreaded disease.