Your Excellency Ambassador Lotte Knudsen,
Your Excellency Ambassador Sofie From-Emmesberger,
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon; it is an honour to address you today.
Let me begin by expressing my deep appreciation for the strong support of Team Europe throughout the pandemic.
We especially appreciate the support of the EU and its Member States, as well as the European Commission, for the critical role you have played in establishing and support the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, and COVAX.
It’s pleasing to see a global downturn in cases and deaths over the past month. But we’ve been here before. The pandemic is far from over, and it will not be over anywhere until it’s over everywhere.
Even once the acute phase of the pandemic ends, the world will continue to feel the after-effects for years to come.
The pandemic has destabilized societies, economies, and governments. It has shown that there is no global security without global health security.
The fastest and best way to end this pandemic is with genuine global cooperation on vaccine supply and access.
More than 6 billion vaccine doses have now been administered globally, and almost one-third of the world’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
But those numbers mask a horrifying inequity.
More than 75% of vaccines have gone to high- and upper-middle income countries.
Low-income countries have received less than one half of one percent of the world’s vaccines.
We are now facing a two-track pandemic, fueled by vaccine inequity. Countries with fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings are especially at risk.
We are grateful that high-income countries have pledged to donate more than one billion doses, but so far, less than 15% of those doses have been delivered.
As you know, in May I set a global challenge, to vaccinate 10% of the population of every country by the end of September.
That deadline passed yesterday. 56 countries didn’t make it, most of them in Africa, where just 5% of the population is vaccinated.
That is not the fault of those countries, most of whom have readied their systems and have rolled out the few vaccines they have received.
But because manufacturers have prioritised or been legally obliged to fulfil bilateral deals with higher-income countries, low-income countries have been deprived of the tools to protect their people.
This is not just ethically abhorrent, it’s also epidemiologically and economically self-defeating.
The longer vaccine inequity persists, the longer the social and economic turmoil will continue, and the more opportunity the virus has to circulate and change into more dangerous variants.
We need a global realization that no country can vaccinate its way out of this pandemic in isolation from the rest of the world.
We need all countries to commit to achieving WHO’s targets to vaccinate 40% of the population of every country by the end of this year, and 70% by the middle of next year.
These targets are eminently achievable, but only if the countries and companies that control the global vaccine supply do their part.
We need 2 billion doses for low- and lower-middle income countries, and we need an ironclad global commitment to deliver them.
COVAX works, but it needs supply and funding. So far, it has shipped more than 314 million doses to 144 countries and territories.
We call on the countries and companies that control the global supply of vaccines to swap their near-term vaccine deliveries with COVAX and AVAT;
to fulfil their dose-sharing pledges immediately;
and to facilitate the immediate sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property.
Of course, vaccines alone won’t end this pandemic. WHO continues to recommend that all countries apply a tailored, consistent and comprehensive risk-based approach, with a combination of effective public health and social measures, equitable vaccination and early clinical care.
Over the longer term, we must be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, and respond to future pandemics and health emergencies.
As you know, there have been several reports and reviews of the global response to the pandemic, with hundreds of recommendations.
As we’ve studied these reviews, we see four critical areas for action.
First, we need better global governance that is inclusive, equitable and accountable, including a legally-binding international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response;
We believe an international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response will strengthen the foundation for global cooperation, setting the rules of the game, and enhancing solidarity among nations.
Instead of the chaos and confusion that has fuelled this pandemic, we need cooperation and collaboration in the face of common threats.
Second, we more and better financing for national and global preparedness and response.
Crucially, any financing facilities must be built using existing financial institutions, rather than creating new ones that further fragment the global health architecture.
Third, we better systems and tools, across the One Health spectrum.
Already, WHO has taken steps to start building some of those tools.
As you know, together with Chancellor Merkel, I had the honour of opening the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin last month, and several other initiatives are in development.
And fourth, we need a strengthened, empowered and sustainably financed WHO at the centre of the global health architecture, to fully realise the Organization’s broad constitutional mandate.
With 194 Member States and 152 country offices, WHO has unique global reach and unique global legitimacy.
But over several decades, it has been progressively weakened by a debilitating imbalance between assessed and voluntary, earmarked contributions that distort our budget and constrain our ability to deliver what our Member States expect of us.
Redressing this imbalance is critical if WHO is to be the independent and authoritative institution the world needs it to be.
I’d like to leave you with three priorities for the EU and its Member States:
First, we seek your political and financial support for achieving WHO’s vaccination targets, and for our continued response to the pandemic, especially in fragile settings.
Second, we seek your support for the development and adoption of an international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response, in the lead-up to the Special Session of the World Health Assembly in November.
Third, we seek your support for promoting a stronger WHO at the centre of the global health security architecture, including by reversing the historic imbalance between assessed and voluntary contributions.
We also seek your commitment to prioritize and invest in health emergency preparedness as a core component of EU foreign and security policy.
Thank you once again for your commitment to multilateralism and solidarity, and for the partnership of the European Union for a healthier, safer, and fairer world.
I thank you.