The vaccine against the coronavirus infection must become a "global public good" obtained via a coordinated effort by all stakeholders, including the World Health Organization (WHO), French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2020) The vaccine against the coronavirus infection must become a "global public good" obtained via a coordinated effort by all stakeholders, including the World Health Organization (WHO), French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
"At the moment when health workers are fighting against the pandemic, when all our people and all our countries are facing it with courage, we cannot let ourselves be divided. We have a collective duty to be effective," Macron said in an address to the 73d World Health Assembly.
The French president urged all stakeholders, be it states, organizations, funds, pharmaceutical companies or ordinary citizens, to join forces. He also urged them to cooperate with WHO, highlighting the organization's "irreplaceable coordinating role, scientific expertise and knowledge of the situation on the ground."
"If we discover a vaccine against COVID-19, it will be a global public good, and everyone must have access to it," Macron said, adding that "as long as the disease remains a threat to a few, it will remain a threat for everybody."
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. Its key functions are to determine the organization's policies, appoint the director-general, and supervise the budget.
The World Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland. The current 73d session launched on Monday to run until Thursday in a video conference format.
