'Failing As A Global Community': WHO Chief Pleads For Covid Vaccines For Low Income Countries

"The level of paternalism, the level of the colonial mindset that says 'we can't give you something because we're afraid you won't use it'. I mean seriously, in the middle of a pandemic?"

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New Delhi: World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus while addressing a press conference of Friday asked for the cooperation of rich countries to provide poorer countries with the Covid-19 vaccines. Many are facing drastic shortages whereas richer countries were opening up and administering vaccines to children who aren't at immediate risk. 

 In Africa, new infections and deaths jumped by nearly 40% last week compared to the previous week, the WHO Chief said that the situation is "so dangerous" as the Delta variant spreads globally.

"Our world is failing, as the global community we are failing," he told a news conference according to Reuters. 

"I mean that attitude has to be a thing of the past," Tedros said while comparing the current state to the HIV/AIDS crisis when some argued that African nations were unable to use complicated treatments. "The problem now is a supply problem, just give us the vaccines." 

"The difference is between the haves and the have nots which is now completely exposing the unfairness of our world - the injustice, the inequality, let's face it," he said according to Reuters.

After India suspended vaccine exports, COVAX which is run jointly by the GAVI vaccine alliance and the WHO run into major supply issues. So far the alliance has delivered 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 132 countries since February. 

"We have through COVAX this month zero doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, zero doses of SII vaccines (Serum Institute of India), zero doses of J & J (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine," said Bruce Aylward, WHO senior adviser was quoted by Reuters. 

Meanwhile, WHO's top emergency expert Mike Ryan said that many developing countries are much better than industrialized countries in carrying out mass vaccination of their populations against infectious diseases from cholera to polio.