The immense economic impact of COVID on all economies, and in particularly fragile economies, is a major factor in any response to the pandemic.
The World Health Organization and national governments have established COVAX, whose aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
The US$7.5 billion pledged by G7 countries - the UK government's contribution to date being £548m - to COVAX for access to vaccines is welcome, but as individual countries seek to source their own vaccines, many simply do not have the purchasing power especially when they are burdened by an ongoing debt crisis.
However, access to vaccines is more complicated than simply providing more finance. There is an acute problem on the supply side for the drugs. Rich nations have blocked proposals by India and South Africa at the World Trade Organisation to a temporary waiver on the intellectual property rights which would enable countries in the global south to produce the vaccines. Pharmaceutical companies received billions of dollars of public funds to develop the vaccines, it is only right that they make them available to all, based on global public health needs.
Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD, said:
“Some governments in sub-Saharan Africa have managed to buy a limited number of doses, but many do not expect to see vaccine roll-out beginning at scale before 2022.
"We support local organisations such as REPAM, the Catholic Church network upholding people’s rights in the Amazon region, who are campaigning for access, and for vaccines to be made available at a fair price."
At the real heart of this is about having the money to spend on health care and economic recovery. Debt relief and new finance are central because countries in the global south simply do not have the $6 trillion that G7 countries, such as the UK, have used to fund schemes to support jobs and economic sectors.
CAFOD is calling on calling on private creditors to stop holding many poorer countries to ransom. Companies like BlackRock, JP Morgan and HSBC continue to receive debt payments. “This is immoral in a pandemic where we desperately need global solidarity and collective action,” adds Christine Allen. “Cancelling the debt payments of some countries in the global south will support them to reinvest this money into their health systems and services.”
It is also important that there is a new allocation of US$3 trillion IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) – monetary reserves created by the IMF and allocated to all countries at times of crisis. They were issued in 2009 to help countries rebuild their economies after the global financial crisis. At the latest G20 Finance Ministers meeting, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak supported the new need for new SDRs.
CAFOD is a member of the Peoples’ Vaccine Alliance, a movement of health, humanitarian and faith-based organisations working together to ensure vaccines are available to all people globally. As we move towards the G7 summit in Cornwall in June, and the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, Britain can play its part in speeding up global vaccine distribution.
The Vatican’s special Covid-19 commission has published a report, Vaccine for all: 20 points for a fairer and healthier world and has reminded world leaders that “Vaccines must be provided to all fairly and equitably, prioritising those most in need.”
Notes to Editors
For further information, broadcast interviews or briefings please contact Nana Anto-Awuakye - Email: nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.uk, Mobile: +44 (0)7799 477 541, Out of Office Press Office: +44(0) 7919 301 429.nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.ukFor further information, broadcast interviews or briefings please contact Nana Anto-Awuakye - Email: nanto-awuakye@cafod.org.uk, Mobile: +44 (0)7799 477 541, Out of Office Press Office: +44(0) 7919 301 429.
The Peoples’ Vaccine Alliance is a coalition of global and national organizations and activists united under a common aim of campaigning for a ‘People’s Vaccine’. The call for a People’s Vaccine is backed by past and present world leaders, health experts, faith leaders and economists.
CAFOD is member of CIDSE - an international group of Catholic social justice organisations. Read their statement on Covid vaccine fairness
CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and part of Caritas International. Across the world we bring hope and compassion to poor communities, standing side by side with them to end poverty and injustice. Because we work through the local Church, we can reach people and places that others can’t.
10 March 2021
The coronavirus pandemic is estimated to push 150 million people into extreme poverty and an additional 130 million people will be left hungry. Not having enough food, or clean water to wash your hands, makes coronavirus one of many devastating threats to vulnerable families living in the global south.
The immense economic impact of COVID on all economies, and in particularly fragile economies, is a major factor in any response to the pandemic.
““With starvation a more visible threat than the virus, children go out on the streets to beg for food, despite the danger of the disease spreading. Day and night outside my priest house, people are asking for something to 'quench their hunger'. It is the poorest, the old, women and children who are paying the price.” ”