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He noted 44 bilateral deals were signed last year and at least 12 have already been signed this year.<\/p>\nThe world is on the brink of \u201ccatastrophic moral failure\u201d in sharing\u00a0Covid-19 vaccines, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Monday, urging countries and manufacturers to spread doses more fairly around the world.<\/p>\n
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the prospects for equitable distribution were at \u201cserious risk\u201d just as its\u00a0COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme\u00a0aimed to start distributing inoculations next month.<\/p>\n
He noted 44 bilateral deals were signed last year and at least 12 have already been signed this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could delay COVAX deliveries and create exactly the scenario COVAX was designed to avoid, with hoarding, a chaotic market, an uncoordinated response and continued social and economic disruption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Such a \u201cme-first approach\u201d left the world\u2019s poorest and most vulnerable at risk, he said at the opening of the body\u2019s annual Executive Board meeting in virtual format.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately these actions will only prolong the pandemic,\u201d he added, urging countries to avoid making the same mistakes made during the H1N1 and HIV pandemics.<\/p>\n
The global scramble for shots has intensified as more infectious virus variants circulate.<\/p>\n
Tedros said more than 39 million vaccine doses had been administered in 49 higher-income countries whereas just 25 doses had been given in one poor country.<\/p>\n
A delegate from Burkina Faso, on behalf of the African group, expressed concern at the meeting that a few countries had \u201choovered up\u201d most of the supplies.<\/p>\n
Observers say this board meeting, which last until next Tuesday, is one of the most important in the UN health agency\u2019s more than 70-year history and could shape its role in global health long after the pandemic ends.<\/p>\n
On the agenda is reform of the body as well as its financing system, which was revealed as inadequate after its largest donor, the United States, announced its withdrawal last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWHO has to remain relevant and … has to come out of this crisis with more strength than before,\u201d said WHO Executive Board Vice-Chair Bjoern Kuemmel of Germany in comments last week.<\/p>\n
But he expected resistance from some countries to pressure to boost financial contributions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The world is on the brink of \u201ccatastrophic moral failure\u201d in sharing\u00a0Covid-19 vaccines, the head<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"yoast_head":"\n