Bangladesh
Covid Vaccination Prime Minister appeals to help some countries with vaccines
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, April 9: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the international community to increase their contribution to some countries, which are still far from the goal of vaccination.
She said, "Unfortunately, some countries are still far from achieving their vaccination targets. These countries deserve the special attention and support of the international community."
This was stated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a recorded video message at a virtual conference titled '2022 Gavi COVAX AMC Summit: Break Covid Now' organized by Germany and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance.
The leader-level meeting was held with the aim of raising at least 5.2 billion US dollars in emergency financial support for the COVAX, including 3.8 billion US dollars in donor funds for low-income countries backed by the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment.
The Prime Minister said the Covid-19 pandemic has strengthened the need for international cooperation to respond effectively to public health emergencies. "The Covax facility offers us a worldwide platform for this purpose. We need to support this platform with the necessary resources and expertise to deal with future epidemics," she said.
"If we did not have a strong healthcare system, the effects of the epidemic could be devastating in Bangladesh. In pandemics we have been able to keep the infection at a tolerable level and now we have been able to reduce the infection to a great extent. So far, Bangladesh has vaccinated more than 90 percent of its target population for free," the Prime Minister said.
The virtual event was co-chaired by Svenja Schulze, Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, and Jose Manuel Barroso, Chairman of the GAVI Board.
Nearly 1.2 billion in funding and donated doses have now been delivered to low-income countries and regions around the world through Gavi COVAX AMC, and the rapid increase in deliveries by the end of 2021 has helped countries close the vaccine equity gap.
The inaugural session was addressed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Senegalese President Macky Sall and GAVI Board Chairman Professor Jose Manuel Barroso.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Tunisian Prime Minister Dr. Nazla Bowden and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also gave video messages.
