ALEXEY TSOI HAD A SPEACH AT THE MEETING OF THE UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Today the Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aleksey Tsoi took part in the summit meeting of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated to the problem of vaccination – “Vaccines for all”.
ECOSOC is known as an effective platform for discussing international economic and social issues and developing recommendations addressed to the Member States and the United Nations system, including ways to solve global health problems. As part of the discussion of the situation of uneven distribution of vaccines in the world, Aleksey Tsoi made a statement in which he noted the relevance of the issues raised. “As the world is in the midst of the fight against COVID-19, the greatest burden of this pandemic is negatively affecting all countries, especially those in special situations, including landlocked developing countries. At the same time, inequalities in access to COVID-19 vaccines further widen the gap between rich and poor countries. We commend the efforts of Secretary-General António Guterres and the World Health Organization for their teamwork with GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) and CEPI (International Alliance for Vaccine Development) to achieve the common goals of the COVAX initiative, ”he said. … The Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, using the opportunity presented, called on large economies, international financial institutions, and other stakeholders to take tangible steps to ensure equal access to vaccines for the world’s most vulnerable countries in this issue. Aleksey Tsoi appealed to countries that have already provided their own population with vaccines to donate the surplus to the most vulnerable countries. He also called on COVAX mediators to consider increasing the percentage of doses for countries in special situations. This can also be achieved through increased and active funding from the club of the largest economies, ensuring the smooth and predictable operation of the COVAX fund. In addition, Aleksey Tsoi emphasized, “to call on WTO members to temporarily withdraw from relevant TRIPS obligations to facilitate an appropriate response to COVID-19, including timely access to affordable medical products, including vaccines and drugs, or to scale up research, development, production, and supplies of basic medical products ”.