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UN / GUTERRES WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
STORY: UN / GUTERRES WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY
TRT: 1:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 21 MAY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior
21 MAY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
2. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have warned of the dangers of a two-speed global response. Sadly, unless we act now, we face a situation in which rich countries vaccinate the majority of their people and open their economies, while the virus continues to cause deep suffering by circling and mutating in the poorest countries. Further spikes and surges could claim hundreds of thousands of lives and slow the global economic recovery. COVID-19 cannot be beaten one country at a time.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
3. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior
21 MAY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
4. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“The world must respond resolutely and in solidarity to stop the virus. World leaders must urgently step up with a global plan for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments. This starts with funding the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX Facility, to deploy lifesaving tools to the poorest countries on a global scale. But that is not enough. We are at war with a virus. We need the logic and urgency of a war economy, to boost the capacity of our weapons, the vaccines.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
5. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior
21 MAY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
6. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“COVID-19 cannot be seen in isolation from the fundamental problems with our health systems: inequality, underfunding; complacency, neglect. With the right primary health care systems in place, we will recover more quickly from this pandemic, and prevent the next before it takes hold. Our efforts to recover from COVID-19 should not come at the cost of other essential healthcare, from women’s reproductive services to children’s vaccinations and mental health coverage.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
7. Wide shot, UN headquarters exterior
21 MAY 2021, NEW YORK CITY
8. SOUNDBITE (English) António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations:
“COVID-19 must be a turning point. Your deliberations at this 74th World Health Assembly will be critical to set the highest levels of ambition. I urge you to take the bold decisions necessary to end this pandemic, and build safe, healthy communities and societies for the future.”
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
9. Wide shot, UN flag outside headquarters
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of “the dangers of a two-speed global response” to COVID-19 and stressed that the pandemic “cannot be beaten one country at a time.”
In a pre-recorded message to the 74ht World Health Assembly which opened today (24 May), Guterres said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a tsunami of suffering with over 3.4 million lives lost and trillions of dollars in global economic losses. He stressed that the world’s most vulnerable are suffering most and feared that this is far from over.
Guterres said, unless action is taken now, “we face a situation in which rich countries vaccinate the majority of their people and open their economies, while the virus continues to cause deep suffering by circling and mutating in the poorest countries. Further spikes and surges could claim hundreds of thousands of lives and slow the global economic recovery.”
He called on world leaders to “urgently step up with a global plan for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments.” This starts with funding the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX Facility, “to deploy lifesaving tools to the poorest countries on a global scale,” Guterres stressed.
However, the UN chief noted that this was not enough. He added, “We are at war with a virus. We need the logic and urgency of a war economy, to boost the capacity of our weapons, the vaccines.”
Guterres called on the G20 to set up a Task Force that brings together all countries with vaccine production capacities, the World Health Organization, the ACT-Accelerator partners and international financial institutions, able to deal with the pharmaceutical companies and other key stakeholders. The aim of the Task Force would be to at least double manufacturing capacity by exploring all options, from voluntary licenses and technology transfers to patent pooling and flexibility on intellectual property rights.
The Secretary-General said COVID-19 “cannot be seen in isolation from the fundamental problems with our health systems: inequality, underfunding; complacency, neglect.” He said, “With the right primary health care systems in place, we will recover more quickly from this pandemic, and prevent the next before it takes hold.” He underscored that efforts to recover from COVID-19 “should not come at the cost of other essential healthcare, from women’s reproductive services to children’s vaccinations and mental health coverage.”
Guterres also highlighted the importance of preparing for the next global health emergency. He expressed his full support for the recommendations in the recent report by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. He said the world needs political commitment at the highest level to transform the existing system through an internationally coordinated, all-of-government- and-society approach, with WHO at the heart of global pandemic preparedness.
The UN chief said COVID-19 must be a “turning point.” He told leaders at the World Health Assembly that their deliberations would be “critical to set the highest levels of ambition.” He urged them to take the “bold decisions necessary to end this pandemic, and build safe, healthy communities and societies for the future.”
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