YouSaid · the spoken record

Seth Berkley

lines on the record: 9
first: 2021-02-17
most recent: 2021-02-17
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“As an epidemiologist who has specialized in infectious disease over a lifetime and as the head of the Gavi Alliance and the COVAX Facility, I can say that science tells us there is no way out of this pandemic alone. We have to do it together or face generational consequences. Our ask is that the Security Council advocate for and invest in this unprecedented effort, that they call on all nations to ensure the unhindered deployment of vaccines in settings affected by conflict and into the arms of all high-risk individuals, whether refugee or citizen. As we now know, global health security is key to economic and human security, progress and stability, and we overlook it at our own peril. No one is safe until we are all safe. COVID-19 is the biggest stress test of the multilateral system in decades.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“Those doses are meant for 92 lower income countries eligible for the COVAX Advance Market Commitment. With additional financing, the number of doses that can be delivered could increase to 1.8 billion additional doses. It is critical that donors and countries step up with additional funding, manufacturers prioritize multilateral initiatives over short-term profit, research and development and exceptional scientific knowledge is shared and the family of nations represented by the United Nations pull together and prepare for the largest logistical effort in immunization the world has ever seen. It is also fundamentally important that where vaccines are available, the Security Council play its political role in enabling supplies to move into conflict-affected settings via neutral humanitarian actors, in accordance with international law.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“While we work on that safety net, with the strong support of our humanitarian partners in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, COVAX and our partners are clear that the first resort for covering all high-risk groups, irrespective of their legal status, is their inclusion in the country’s national vaccine plans. The humanitarian buffer is but a measure of last resort. I ask the Security Council to reinforce that message so that available doses are distributed in order to ensure truly equitable access, in accordance with humanitarian principles and State obligations towards populations within their territory. COVAX has secured 2.3 billion doses in advance commitments and options for 190 economies in 2021. Of those, at least 1.3 billion doses are reserved, but not yet fully paid for, with donor funding.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“Along with securing and supporting populations impacted by conflict, it is important to consider pandemic preparedness, surveillance, cybersecurity and the security of supply lines, health workers and health facilities. That is why, as my colleague, Ms. Henrietta Fore, explained, COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) and its goal for equitable access are so critical to ending the acute phase of the pandemic. That goes hand in hand with access to diagnostics, therapeutics, supply chains and health systems innovations. As part of the COVAX Facility, a proposed humanitarian buffer will enable access to COVID-19 vaccines for high-risk populations in humanitarian settings, especially where they are at risk of being excluded or where Governments and health ministries have no access due to conflict.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“But it is not just the vaccine, it is also the supply chain management system and the bravery and professionalism of the health workforce and that of development and humanitarian actors that is essential — vaccines do not deliver themselves. Now, I will turn to the biggest test of the multilateral system in a generation. As I have long said, epidemics and pandemics are an evolutionary certainty; and vaccines — where they exist — are a critical tool in preventing them and protecting us all from new diseases. These tools are a key investment in both national and international security. A health budget is a defence budget and investing in vaccines for COVID-19 and other diseases is a fundamental pillar of global health security.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“That is further compounded by challenges to health care provision in conflict and fragile settings, where access to health care and infrastructure are disrupted or restricted when they are needed most, thus further exacerbating deprivation and inequalities and driving displacement. In response to this, Gavi’s “fragility, emergencies and refugees” policy provides greater health system funding and flexibility to eligible partners and countries. Broadly, the response to the challenge we face today builds on Gavi’s work in countries affected by fragility and conflict, as well as its long-standing support for the stockpiles against diseases of epidemic potential like Ebola and yellow fever, funded by Gavi and managed by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“For over 20 years, the Gavi Alliance has worked to protect more than 800 million children through vaccines. Our target for the next five years is to reach children who have received no routine vaccines, the so called “zero-dose children”, two-thirds of whom live below the poverty line, and an estimated 40 per cent living in settings affected by fragility. Vaccines work against poverty and conflict too by giving children, in particular, the same life chances when access is equitable. Sadly, there is a correlation between conflict and underperformance in immunization. Countries supported by Gavi that are not suffering from fragility reach, on average, 81 per cent of children with a third dose of vaccine, while in countries affected by conflict, that drops to 65 per cent.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“Progress on poverty eradication, nutrition, education and immunization coverage have all fallen back, trillions of dollars have been lost from the global economy and the poorest and most vulnerable communities have been hardest hit by the pandemic. Despite the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire, conflicts and political violence have continued or even intensified. The pandemic is more than a global health crisis. It is a significant challenge to international peace and security that can be addressed only through multilateral cooperation. If countries continue to pursue an uncoordinated approach to vaccine distribution, global gross domestic product is expected to fall by as much as $9.2 trillion in 2021. That only weakens our collective ability to ensure peace and stability.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“Thank you for inviting me to brief the Security Council on a topic that will define our common success in addressing the pandemic through equitable access to vaccines. Let me also thank Ms. Henrietta Fore and Mr. Jagan Chapagain, who spoke before me. In order to succeed, we will need to ensure that vulnerable at-risk populations everywhere have access to life-saving vaccines. We must not forget the millions of people in conflict-affected settings, for it is in these last-mile communities where the meaning of equity is most significant. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has laid bare deep systemic inequities between and within societies, exacerbating grievances and conflict along the way.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source