The recovery of the global economy will be significantly slower than expected unless the leaders of the world follow the universal availability of Covid-19 vaccines and end the so-called 'vaccine apartheid,' according to Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
In an interview to The Guardian from his Geneva, Switzerland, office while he gets ready to travel to Rome, Italy, for the G20 summit on October 30 and 31, Ryder said that in order to make the global leaders aware of the negative consequences of a shortage of vaccination for the rest of the world, he will focus on the gospel of "vaccine justice" in deliberations with global leaders.
“ILO will certainly be advocating in favor of universal access on an equitable basis to vaccine regardless of economic possibilities and economic needs of the people concerned. So, our job is to speak in favor of what is called ‘vaccine justice’,” he said.
“We will be advocating that the first and second jabs be made available in all countries of the world before we go to booster jab because that is not what the world should be aiming at,” he added.
A new analysis has revealed that 15 times more Covid-19 vaccine doses per capita have been received by the G20 countries compared to t countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This report was prepared by Airfinity, a science analytics company, and it showcases the extent of the inequality in access to Covid-19 vaccines between high-income and low-income countries, especially in Africa.
The report showed that the per capita doses of Covid-19 vaccines access by G20 countries were 15 times more than the per capita vaccine doses that had been delivered to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as those accessed by low-income countries, and all other countries combined received 3 times less of Covid-19 vaccines.
Only about 1.4 per cent of the total population of Nigeria has received complete vaccination, with 8.4 million doses being given out and 2.88 million getting full vaccinations.
The report showed that a total of about 6.92 billion doses have so far been delivered globally, which has been used to completely vaccinate 2.97 billion people which accounts for about 38.1 per cent of the global population.
In contrast, only 2 per cent of the African population has been completely vaccinated.
Ryder emphasized that the ILO strongly recommends people to get the shots to protect themselves and their families even though he concedes that as individuals, people have the freedom to choose whether or not to receive the vaccine.
A standardised universally acknowledged vaccination certificate is needed to end vaccine discrimination in the aviation industry underlined the Director-General of the global labor watchdog, even as the world opens its doors to visitors for work and tourism.
“As we know, tourism is one of the sectors that is mostly affected by the pandemic. To help people to travel and provide safety, negative tests of the virus are demanded at airports and approval of vaccination and certificate. I am traveling to Italy tomorrow, I have done my test and must also provide a vaccination passport at the airport before I travel otherwise, I cannot move,” he said.
“Though some people might have negative views about vaccination passport or vaccination certificate, this is becoming a pre-condition for international travels at the moment. I think what is more important is not to make the process discriminatory,” he added.
(Source:www.theguardian.ng)
In an interview to The Guardian from his Geneva, Switzerland, office while he gets ready to travel to Rome, Italy, for the G20 summit on October 30 and 31, Ryder said that in order to make the global leaders aware of the negative consequences of a shortage of vaccination for the rest of the world, he will focus on the gospel of "vaccine justice" in deliberations with global leaders.
“ILO will certainly be advocating in favor of universal access on an equitable basis to vaccine regardless of economic possibilities and economic needs of the people concerned. So, our job is to speak in favor of what is called ‘vaccine justice’,” he said.
“We will be advocating that the first and second jabs be made available in all countries of the world before we go to booster jab because that is not what the world should be aiming at,” he added.
A new analysis has revealed that 15 times more Covid-19 vaccine doses per capita have been received by the G20 countries compared to t countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This report was prepared by Airfinity, a science analytics company, and it showcases the extent of the inequality in access to Covid-19 vaccines between high-income and low-income countries, especially in Africa.
The report showed that the per capita doses of Covid-19 vaccines access by G20 countries were 15 times more than the per capita vaccine doses that had been delivered to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa as well as those accessed by low-income countries, and all other countries combined received 3 times less of Covid-19 vaccines.
Only about 1.4 per cent of the total population of Nigeria has received complete vaccination, with 8.4 million doses being given out and 2.88 million getting full vaccinations.
The report showed that a total of about 6.92 billion doses have so far been delivered globally, which has been used to completely vaccinate 2.97 billion people which accounts for about 38.1 per cent of the global population.
In contrast, only 2 per cent of the African population has been completely vaccinated.
Ryder emphasized that the ILO strongly recommends people to get the shots to protect themselves and their families even though he concedes that as individuals, people have the freedom to choose whether or not to receive the vaccine.
A standardised universally acknowledged vaccination certificate is needed to end vaccine discrimination in the aviation industry underlined the Director-General of the global labor watchdog, even as the world opens its doors to visitors for work and tourism.
“As we know, tourism is one of the sectors that is mostly affected by the pandemic. To help people to travel and provide safety, negative tests of the virus are demanded at airports and approval of vaccination and certificate. I am traveling to Italy tomorrow, I have done my test and must also provide a vaccination passport at the airport before I travel otherwise, I cannot move,” he said.
“Though some people might have negative views about vaccination passport or vaccination certificate, this is becoming a pre-condition for international travels at the moment. I think what is more important is not to make the process discriminatory,” he added.
(Source:www.theguardian.ng)
