The COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on low-income countries due to the unequal global access to health care workers and vital equipment, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR), told the resumed World Health Assembly on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2020) The COVID-19 pandemic is having a disproportionate impact on low-income countries due to the unequal global access to health care workers and vital equipment, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR), told the resumed World Health Assembly on Tuesday.
"Many health systems are still overwhelmed with low-income regimes disproportionately affected due to unequal access to health workers, oxygen treatment, ventilators, protective equipment. We are leaving people behind," Johnson Sirleaf said at the World Health Organization (WHO) event.
The international community must take lessons from the ongoing epidemiological crisis to ensure that the world is better prepared for any future pandemics, the former Liberian president added.
"Each pandemic is unique. And there's a lot to learn from this one. We must learn from this pandemic so that we can better respond to its next phase and better prepare for the next pandemic we will face," Johnson Sirleaf remarked.
The WHO, Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has launched the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility) in an attempt to ensure fair and equal access for any safe and effective vaccines against the disease.
Bruce Aylward, a senior adviser to the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Monday that $4.7 billion in pledges has been provided to the COVAX Facility since its launch.
