Costa Rica called this past Saturday to intensify the production of vaccines against COVID-19 and to democratize their distribution for meeting the needs of the poorest countries, which face difficulties in accessing them.
“It is a fact that an escalation of production capacity is required, as well as the democratization of vaccine distribution,” declared the Costa Rican Foreign Minister, Rodolfo Solano, in a session of ministers of the UN Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc).
The minister stressed that “it is precisely the populations of the poorest countries that suffer from the absence or extreme limitation of vaccination programs that could save their lives.” He warned that a large part of these populations will remain without access to vaccination programs until the end of 2021. The call is made at a time when rich countries, such as the United States, have large quantities of Coronavirus vaccines while many poor countries have not had access to them.
Costa Rica was one of the first Latin American countries to start vaccinating against COVID-19, last December, but progress in the application has been slow because the country depends on the vaccines sent by international laboratories.
Solano pointed out that expanding capacities to produce vaccines and distribute them equitably implies a strong mobilization of financial resources that exceeds the possibilities of nations whose finances have been hit by the Pandemic.
For this reason, he said, “it is essential that all key international players join, including the private sector. We have all been affected by the current health crisis and it is urgent for all of us to find joint solutions.”
Costa Rica proposed at the beginning of the Pandemic the creation of a health technologies platform for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
