The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created the opportunity to build a better world by viewing health, vaccines, and medical treatment as a universal good that should be accessible to all, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said at the opening of the MED 2020 online conference on Wednesday
GENOA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2020) The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created the opportunity to build a better world by viewing health, vaccines, and medical treatment as a universal good that should be accessible to all, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said at the opening of the MED 2020 online conference on Wednesday.
"Allow me to give my country full credit for its commitment to the noble aim of universal and equitable access to vaccines, tests and treatment for COVID-19. In the extraordinary circumstances that we are experiencing, let us consider health as a global interest, a global asset, and a universal good accessible to all people in all countries. We all feel the need to move quickly ahead in this direction, and so we are going to be hosting a global health summit in 2021," Di Maio stated.
According to the Italian foreign minister, the current pandemic offers a once in a generation chance to reshape the world for the better.
"The pandemic is a chance that comes once in the generation, it is a chance to design a different and better world, and in doing so, we will provide social and economic sustainability," Di Maio added.
Italy has publicly backed the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility), an initiative led by the World Health Organization, Gavi vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to ensure fair and equal access to safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19.
In 2021, Italy will take over the rotating G20 presidency as the international community looks to mount a recovery from an epidemiological and economic crisis.
