Who read or listened to the Speech from the Throne this week? A non-event for some, even for many people. What is notorious in this speech is that the control of the pandemic is the absolute priority, as much here as elsewhere in the world, a tacit recognition of communicating vessels.
Also this week, the two co-chairs of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response launched a progress report on the fight against COVID-19 following the report presented in May to the Assembly. World Health Organization, “Losing time”.
It is clear that the international response to COVID-19 is grotesque and tragically too slow, too little in action and fragmented.
As proof, the United Nations General Assembly, followed by the G20 meeting this fall, were the scene of generous pledges from heads of state without a concrete action plan.
As for the G20, it gave birth to a mouse with a proposal for a working group of ministers of health and finance from different countries to look into financing for preparedness and response to pandemics. Today, all eyes will be on the World Health Assembly, which will hold a special session in Geneva, from November 29.
To recap, none of the Independent Group’s short-term recommendations have been fully implemented. At best, they have remained the subject of debate for a goal to be achieved, including the distribution of a billion COVID-19 vaccines to low and middle income countries, the granting of voluntary licenses and technology transfers for them. vaccines against COVID-19 and compensation for the financing of the system to accelerate access to tools to fight COVID-19 (the ACT Accelerator).
In the past six months, there have been added some 1.65 million deaths from COVID-19 and 90 million people infected, a third of the deaths and infections since the start of the pandemic.
Take concrete action
Canada has pledged to distribute 50 million doses of vaccine and the equivalent of 200 million doses in total. So far, Canada has only delivered nearly 8 million doses, much of it in recent weeks. This last boost must be maintained.
Without wishing to release Canada from its commitments, it does not really have to be ashamed of its participation in the international war effort. However, it has mobilized more than $ 2.5 billion in international aid in response to the pandemic.
Read the information on international aid (Government of Canada website)
So, at the special session of the World Health Assembly next week, Canada has all the legitimacy to ask more of its peers, with concrete actions to quickly end this pandemic:
- pushing countries to ensure that promised doses are not only delivered as quickly as possible on airport tarmacs, but into people’s arms by giving a clear delivery schedule, with long expiry dates;
- supporting and facilitating the production of vaccines, diagnostic tests and treatments in times of pandemics as global public goods, including temporary support for the intellectual property waiver (which Canada continues to oppose);
- by ensuring that a treaty on pandemics proposed by member states of the World Health Assembly is initiated. A treaty that concretely prepares member countries for health threats, which provides legal tools to strengthen the obligation of countries to declare an epidemic and to accept independent investigations, especially in the event of an emerging infectious disease. A treaty that ensures equitable and affordable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics to fight pandemics.
Put an end to empty words
The World Health Assembly cannot be another choreographed gathering with empty rhetoric as COVID-19 continues to mutate and wreak havoc across the planet, forcing several countries in Europe to reschedule this week in particular. health measures in place and accelerate the pace towards booster doses against COVID-19 for its population while more than 3.5 billion people are still waiting for their first dose of vaccine.
Not giving birth to a treaty on pandemics and concrete actions to be implemented quickly would simply be collective suicide at this stage of the pandemic.
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