UN Rights Expert Calls For Equitable Global Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccines - Statement

The UN Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity Obiora Okafor on Friday called on countries to cooperate in order to ensure an equitable global COVID-19 vaccine distribution program for all

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2021) The UN Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity Obiora Okafor on Friday called on countries to cooperate in order to ensure an equitable global COVID-19 vaccine distribution program for all.

"International vaccine solidarity should be much preferred over international vaccine competition, such as the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) led by the World Health Organization that aims at global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines by fairly distributing two billion doses by the end of 2021," the Okafor said in a statement.

Okafor pointed out there is a sharp divide in vaccine distribution, in which the much richer and less populated countries in the Global North have cornered the vast majority of COVID-19 vaccines.

Meanwhile, the Global South with the bulk majority of the world's population is left with almost no access to these medicines.

Okafor said the coronavirus can still travel from the mostly unvaccinated Global South to the Global North risking to bolster or reignite the pandemic even in states that will vaccinate a significant portion of their populations.