BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 7
Trend:
The Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) unanimously adopted a communiqué on ensuring timely, equal and universal access to the COVID-19 vaccine to all countries on favorable terms on March 5, 2021 within Azerbaijan's chairmanship in NAM, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
The communiqué focuses on ensuring equal and fair access of the countries to the COVID-19 vaccine, which is one of the most important issues on the international agenda and the inequality between the developed and developing countries in this regard.
NAM members expressed great concern about growing inequality among the countries and growing poverty due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, highlighting the important role of the NAM in strengthening global efforts to respond to the consequences of the pandemic.
The creation of the NAM Contact Group in response to COVID-19 and the holding of the summit on May 4, 2020, as well as the creation of a database on the medical and humanitarian needs of the member-states based on the decision of the summit and the holding of a special session of the UN General Assembly on combating COVID-19 at the initiative of the NAM was stressed as a valuable contribution of the NAM to strengthening multilateralism in response to the global threats.
The bureau members expressed great concern about inequality in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines between high and low income countries.
For example, since the beginning of vaccination, 90 percent of all vaccines accounted for high- and middle-income countries, while low-income countries can not get the vaccine.
In this regard, the bureau called for providing the developed and developing countries with vaccine on favorable, equal and fair terms.
The NAM coordinating bureau also called on all international organizations and interested sides to ensure transparency in the production, distribution and fair evaluation of vaccines.
The adoption of the communiqué by the Coordinating Bureau of the NAM is an important contribution of Azerbaijan's chairmanship to the efforts of the international community to combat the pandemic that the world is currently facing.