Covid-19: the G7 will give a billion doses of vaccine to poor countries

Published on : 06/11/2021 – 07:01

Pandemic and climate emergency: The leaders of the major powers of the G7 will seek common responses to global crises during their first meeting in almost two years, which is held this weekend in Cornwall, in the south-west of England .

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expects the Group of Seven to agree to donate one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine to the poorest countries during his summit which begins on Friday, June 11. The goal is to “end the pandemic in 2022”, according to Downing Street.

“The time has come for the world’s largest and most technologically advanced democracies to shoulder their responsibilities and immunize the world, because no one is protected until everyone is protected,” Boris said. Johnson.

The United States has already promised to give 500 million doses, and the British 100 million, mainly through the Covax sharing device. This is insufficient, deplore NGOs: the G7 must approve the suspension of patents on vaccines to allow mass production. Washington and Paris are in favor, Germany firmly opposes it.

“At the current rate of vaccination, it would take 57 years for low-income countries to achieve the same level of protection as that of the G7 countries. This is morally unacceptable, but also counterproductive given the risk posed by changes in the coronavirus “, underlines Oxfam.

French President Emmanuel Macron also called on pharmaceutical companies to donate 10% of the doses sold and wanted the G7 to endorse the target of 60% of Africans vaccinated by the end of March 2022. According to the Bloomberg agency, the G7 will also call for a new WHO investigation into the origin of the coronavirus.

The climate, a priority

The fight against global warming will be the summit’s other priority, which aims to be carbon neutral, before the major UN climate conference (COP26) scheduled for November in Scotland.

Boris Johnson aims for a “Marshall Plan” to help developing countries decarbonize their economy, according to the Times, like the massive American funding for European reconstruction after World War II.

In May, the G7 environment ministers pledged to stop public aid to coal-fired power plants this year, also promising “ambitious and accelerated efforts” to reduce their CO2 emissions.

Ahead of the summit’s launch, Boris Johnson and Joe Biden on Thursday displayed a united front on the climate emergency, approving a new “Atlantic Charter” which also stresses the need to deal with cyber attacks.

If the two close allies are in phase on major international issues, such as the challenges posed by China or Russia, which will also be discussed at the G7, tensions persist over Northern Ireland, at the heart of a post dispute. -Brexit between London and the European Union.

If Joe Biden has refrained from any public criticism, European leaders intend to remind Boris Johnson of their attachment to the signed agreements, which London wants to question in the face of the anger in the British province.

With AFP and Reuters