WTO chief says trade must do more to address ‘devastating’ vaccine inequity

The head of the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday that the low COVID-19 vaccination rate of around 4% in Africa was “devastating”, saying that trade should help address vaccine inequity.

WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s remarks came at the opening session of a Geneva-based trade event alongside South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Earlier this week Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, said that “delaying vaccines in low-income countries and regions like Africa cannot be the way forward. The stakes are simply too high. Ending vaccine inequality must be seen as a global public good and development priority for all”.

via Reuters

Discover more from The Dispatch

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading

Verified by MonsterInsights