KATHMANDU, June 9– UNICEF Goodwill AmbassadorsPriyanka Chopra Jonas, David Beckham, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Whoopi Goldberg, Angélique Kidjo, and Liam Neeson have joined an extraordinary callby 28 high-profile UNICEF Ambassadors and Supporters demanding that G7 leaders commit to donating doses of Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries now.
The open letter, published on Tuesday ahead of the three-day G7 Leaders’ Summit (Friday 11-Sunday 13 June) in Cornwall, UK, urges G7 leaders to commit to sharing a minimum of 20 per cent of Covid-19 vaccine dose supply urgently, to reduce the risk of the virus spreading further and the threat of mutant strains.
Ramla Ali, Fernando Alonso, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom, José Manuel Calderón, Sofia Carson, Gemma Chan, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Olivia Colman, Billie Eilish, Pau Gasol, Whoopi Goldberg, David Harewood, Sir Chris Hoy, Angelique Kidjo, Téa Leoni, Lucy Liu, Juan Manuel López Iturriaga, Ewan McGregor, Alyssa Milano, Andy Murray, Liam Neeson, Liam Payne, Katy Perry, Sergio Ramos, Claudia Schiffer, Teresa Viejo and P!nk are joining UNICEF in calling on G7 world leaders to donate doses and ensure fair and equitable vaccine supply to low- and middle- income countries.
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“The world has spent a year and a half battling the COVID-19 pandemic, but the virus is still spreading in many countries and producing new variants with the potential to put us all back where we started,” the letter reads. “This means more school closures, more healthcare disruptions, and greater economic fallout – threating the futures of families and children everywhere.”
The letter goes on to warn that COVAX, the global initiative supporting poorer countries in gaining access to vaccines, is already facing a shortfall of 190 million doses, and proposes that, in order to help cover this shortfall, G7 countries donate 20 per cent of their vaccines between June and August – over 150 million doses – as a temporary stopgap measure to compensate for this shortfall. Recent data analysis provided by Airfinity, the life sciences research facility, and commissioned by the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), indicates that G7 nations could do so without significant delay to current plans to vaccinate domestic adult populations.
“As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador I believe in the crucial benefit of vaccinations,” a statement issued by UNICEF quoted David Beckham, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as saying. “The pandemic won’t be over until it’s over everywhere, so it’s vital that all communities around the world have fair access to Covid-19 vaccines urgently.”
UNICEF is also warning that without urgently ensuring fair and equitable access supply, the world will continue to be at risk of deadly virus mutations – like the devastating second wave of Covid-19 sweeping across India and other South Asian countries including Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“The crisis at home in India and across the region of South Asia is devastating. This deadly surge of Covid-19 is placing an enormous strain on health facilities across India, with hospital beds, essential medical supplies and oxygen running out. It’s also of huge concern to all of us at UNICEF to hear about children falling ill with this new variant - while many are also losing parents and left alone and at risk, unable to access critical health care, vaccinations and education,” said Priyanka Chopra Jonas, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
“The crisis in India shows why we must act now to avoid further deadly mutations ravaging low- and middle- income nations around the world. UNICEF and its COVAX partners are ensuring vaccines and treatments reaches the world’s most vulnerable populations, but cannot do it alone," Chopra Jonas further said. "A clear solution to this is G7 countries committing to sharing their surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses immediately with the countries whose health workers and vulnerable populations need them the most. That’s exactly why I’ve joined my fellow UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors in signing this letter, urgently asking G7 leaders to make this commitment at the UK summit this week, to keep families and children everywhere safe from Covid-19.”
Finally, the letter argues that “this weekend’s G7 Summit is a vital opportunity for you to agree the actions that will get vaccines where they are most needed, fast…” and urges leaders to set out a roadmap to scale-up donations as supplies increase, noting that forecasts suggest as many as one billion doses may be available for donation by year end.
“Countries need not choose between fighting the disease at home or fighting it abroad. We can, and must, do both simultaneously – and immediately,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. “This is a pivotal time in the fight against COVID-19, as leaders meet to set priorities for what form this fight will take in the coming weeks and months. I am pleased so many UNICEF supporters are joining our call for emergency support for COVAX, so we can continue to wage this fight globally. After all, the disease is not respecting boundaries on a map. Our fight to get ahead of the virus, and its variants, should not either.”
