G-20 nations announced a pledge to pay for vaccine distribution to developing nations that can’t afford it. The leaders also announced a debt extension programme to developing nations during the weekend’s G-20 summit.
This was announced in a draft by G-20 leaders, and seen by Reuters on Saturday.
“We will spare no effort to ensure their affordable and equitable access for all people, consistent with members’ commitments to incentivize innovation,” The G-20 leaders said. “We recognize the role of extensive immunization as a global public good.”
They added that the world economy is picking up after the pandemic, however, it remained highly subject to elevated downside risks. They urged the need to implement measures to safeguard economies and petitioned that multilateral banks focus on helping poorer nations fight the effects of the pandemic.
The draft agreement also disclosed that private creditors help in debt servicing alongside the G-20 until 2021
“There is a lack of participation from private creditors, and we strongly encourage them to participate on comparable terms when requested by eligible countries,” they said.
The G-20 acknowledged that the world must be better prepared for the next pandemic and pledges commitment to advancing global pandemic preparedness, prevention, detection, and response and more engagement to prevent another pandemic hit to global economies.
What you should know
The G-20 pledge may come as a surprise after Nairametrics reported last week that rich nations rejected a World Trade Organization (WTO) proposal to waive the intellectual property rights needed for the manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines. The waiver would have made the vaccine access cheaper for developing nations.
