Trudeau urges shared COVID-19 vaccine at global summit amid UN run

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a COVID-19 vaccine must be shared by the world in order to eradicate the disease.

Trudeau delivered that message today at the virtual Global Vaccine Summit, which raised more than $11.8 billion ($8.8 billion US) from 32 donor governments and 12 foundations, corporations and organisations to immunise 300 million children and support the global fight against COVID-19.

This was Trudeau’s third international summit in a week as Canada steps up its campaig for a coveted seat on the UN’s Security Council on a platform of helping to rebuild the post-pandemic world.

The summit, hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, sought to ensure that poor countries will have ready access to an eventual vaccine for the deadly coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

“As a global community, we must work together to make sure that people around the world have access to vaccinations – especially the most vulnerable,” Trudeau said.

“So, it should come as no shock to anyone that the health of our citizens depends on the health of everyone, everywhere.”

Trudeau joined leaders from 52 countries and major organizations, including philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates, at the international pledging conference.

“To beat the COVID-19 pandemic, the world needs more than breakthrough science. It needs breakthrough generosity,” Gates told the summit.

Last month, Canada pledged $600 million over five years for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – the leading agency for distributing vaccines to less-developed countries.

• Canada commits $600M for global vaccination efforts

Canada’s new commitment provides $475 million in direct contributions and $125 million to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm), which sells bonds against long-term donor contributions to accelerate funding for Gavi needs, the organization said.

Gavi has immunized 760 million children and prevented 13 million deaths in the world’s poorest countries since 2000.

“Vaccines work, and 86 per cent of the world’s children have been reached by routine immunization. And in the midst of a global pandemic, it has never been more important to build capacity to respond to disease outbreaks and work with organizations to develop and deliver vaccines,” Trudeau said.

Michael Messenger, president and CEO of World Vision Canada, said Canada’s commitments to Gavi are “absolutely critical.”

“We need a healthy world to have a healthy Canada,” Messenger said.

Global immunization funding will save millions of lives by ensuring the effective development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine while also maintaining global vaccination services for other deadly diseases like polio and measles, Messenger said.

“When the coronavirus vaccine is ready, the entire world will need to be vaccinated at the same time — it’s unprecedented,” Messenger said. “We must learn from the past and ensure distribution is fair and equitable.”

Rich countries shouldn’t automatically go to the front of the line, he added.

“Simply put, we will not defeat this pandemic until everyone, in every country, is protected,” Messenger said. “That means the most vulnerable children and families in the poorest countries, including in refugee camps, must have equitable access to the vaccine.”

Trudeau’s participation in today’s virtual conference comes one day after he delivered an address to a virtual summit of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States.

He told that summit Canada is committed to helping developing countries, hardest hit by the pandemic, to survive the crisis – underlining a message he delivered last week when he co-hosted a United Nations-sponsored conference aimed at developing a co-ordinated global recovery plan that leaves no country behind.

• Canada calls for concerted global action to assure post-pandemic recovery

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that unless the international community acts resolutely and quickly, the COVID-19 pandemic will cause “unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world.”

UN projections indicate that the pandemic could slash more than $11 trillion ($8.5 trillion US) from the global economy over the next two years, forcing 34.3 million people into extreme poverty this year, and potentially, an additional 130 million people during this decade, Guterres said.

Trudeau’s leading role in a series of international conferences comes two weeks before the UN’s 193 ambassadors are to start voting by secret ballot to fill two non-permanent seats on the Security Council. Canada is competing against Norway and Ireland.

The June 17 vote is to be conducted without a full meeting of the General Assembly because of physical distancing requirements to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

With files from Mike Blanchfield of The Canadian Press