UN chief warns 'vaccine nationalism' is moving at full speed | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
July 12, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • Subscribe
    • Epaper
    • GOVT. Ad
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, JULY 12, 2025
UN chief warns 'vaccine nationalism' is moving at full speed

Coronavirus chronicle

UNB
10 December, 2020, 10:35 am
Last modified: 10 December, 2020, 11:52 am

Related News

  • UN chief alarmed by reports of excessive use of force by security forces against students in Bangladesh
  • UN chief says 'scattered measures' for Gaza aid not enough
  • UN chief urges EU to avoid 'double standards' over Gaza and Ukraine
  • UN chief alleges violations of law in Gaza, angering Israel
  • UN chief urges world not to yield to 'naked greed' of fossil fuel interests

UN chief warns 'vaccine nationalism' is moving at full speed

The UN chief reiterated his call for vaccines to be treated as 'a global public good,' available to everyone, everywhere on the planet

UNB
10 December, 2020, 10:35 am
Last modified: 10 December, 2020, 11:52 am
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Photo: Collected
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Photo: Collected

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that 'vaccine nationalism' is moving at 'full speed,' leaving poor people around the globe watching preparations for inoculations against the coronavirus in some rich nations and wondering if and when they will be vaccinated.

The UN chief reiterated his call for vaccines to be treated as 'a global public good,' available to everyone, everywhere on the planet, especially in Africa. And he appealed for $4.2 billion in the next two months for the World Health Organization's COVAX program, an ambitious project to buy and deliver coronavirus vaccines for the world's poorest people.

After a virtual UN meeting with the African Union, Guterres said at a news conference that financing COVAX is the only way to guarantee vaccines will be available in Africa and other developing areas.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a high-level UN General Assembly meeting last week on Covid-19 that "the light at the end of the tunnel is growing steadily brighter" to end the pandemic. But, he added, vaccines "must be shared equally as global public goods, not as private commodities that widen inequalities and become yet another reason some people are left behind."

Tedros said WHO's cash-strapped ACT-Accelerator program to quickly develop and distribute vaccines fairly, which includes the COVAX project, "is in danger of becoming no more than a noble gesture" without major new funding. COVAX will require an additional $23.9 billion for 2021, he said, stressing that the $28 billion total is less than one-half of 1% of the $11 trillion in stimulus packages announced so far by the Group of 20, the world's richest countries.

The United Kingdom and Russia have already started vaccinating people against the coronavirus. In the United States, the Pfizer vaccine could get a green light for emergency use in the coming days and the Moderna vaccine in the coming weeks. Canada announced the approval of the Pfizer vaccine Wednesday,

Guterres said Africa's 54 nations have registered more than 2.2 million cases of coronavirus infections and over 53,000 deaths from Covid-19.

"There is real hope that vaccines — in combination with other public health measures — will help to overcome the pandemic," he said.

But to end it, he added, vaccines must be available to all and "most African countries lack the financing to adequately respond to the crisis, due in part to declining demand and prices of their commodity exports."

The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong, said in late November that vaccinations against the coronavirus on the continent might not start until the second quarter of next year. "I have seen how Africa is neglected when drugs are available" in the past, he told reporters.

Guterres said Wednesday when asked about Nkengasong's assessment: "It is my hope that we'll be able to do it before the second quarter, but it is true that what we're seeing today is an enormous effort by several countries in order to ensure vaccines for their own populations."

"It's true we are seeing vaccination nationalism moving at full speed," the UN chief said.

"If Africa is not properly supported, we will not be able to fight the pandemic," he said. "There are several vaccines in the pipeline for COVAX, and it is perfectly possible to deliver if the financing is guaranteed."

Top News / World+Biz

covid-19 vaccine / COVAX / UN Chief

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Representational image
    In addition to 35% tariff, US demands 40% local value addition for 'Made in Bangladesh' goods
  • Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
    Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients
  • Photo: Courtesy
    4 arrested, 2 remanded over brutal killing of trader near Mitford Hospital

MOST VIEWED

  • In terms of stream of education, girls maintained their excellence as well. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: Girls dominate boys by over 5%
  • Photo: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin/TBS
    SSC, equivalent results: Pass rate drops to 68.45%, GPA-5 also declines
  • The overall pass rate across all boards this year, 68.45%, is significantly lower than last year's. Photo: Focus Bangla
    SSC 2025: Rajshahi board records highest pass rate, Barishal lowest
  • How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
    How S Alam’s Global Islami Bank cooked Tk2,259cr loss into Tk128cr profit
  • Representational image. Photo: TBS
    SSC 2025: 73.63% pass rate among technical students, 68.09% at Madrasahs
  • Economist Abul Barkat; Photo: Courtesy
    Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case

Related News

  • UN chief alarmed by reports of excessive use of force by security forces against students in Bangladesh
  • UN chief says 'scattered measures' for Gaza aid not enough
  • UN chief urges EU to avoid 'double standards' over Gaza and Ukraine
  • UN chief alleges violations of law in Gaza, angering Israel
  • UN chief urges world not to yield to 'naked greed' of fossil fuel interests

Features

Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients

Kunming rising: China's emerging healthcare hub draws Bangladeshi patients

11h | Panorama
Photo: Collected/BBC

What Hitler’s tariff policy misfire can teach the modern world

1d | The Big Picture
Illustration: TBS

Behind closed doors: Why women in Bangladesh stay in abusive marriages

1d | Panorama
Purbachl’s 144-acre Sal forest is an essential part of the area’s biodiversity. Within it, 128 species of plants and 74 species of animals — many of them endangered — have been identified. Photo: Syed Zakir Hossain/TBS

A forest saved: Inside the restoration of Purbachal's last Sal grove

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Renowned economist Abul Barkat imprisoned

Renowned economist Abul Barkat imprisoned

10h | TBS Today
All of Iran's uranium still intact, Israel claims

All of Iran's uranium still intact, Israel claims

9h | TBS World
Trump-Netanyahu in new strategy on Gaza issue

Trump-Netanyahu in new strategy on Gaza issue

11h | TBS World
Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

Shocking science: why birds stay safe on electricity lines

12h | TBS Stories
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net