More than 230 leaders have written to G7 nations to pay for the vaccination cost for poorer nations
More than 230 leaders, including 100 Former Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers have written to the Group of Seven (G7) nations to pay for the vaccination cost of Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for poorer nations.
The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental organization consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, U.K. and United States (U.S.). The Heads of Government of the member states, as well as the representatives of the European Union (E.U.) meet at the annual G7 Summit.
The request from former world leaders comes ahead of 3-day G7 Summit which will be held from June 11-13 at Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall. The G7 leaders will get a taste of British hospitality at seaside as U.K. is hosting the 47th edition of G7 Summit.
The former world leaders have urged the G7 leaders to guarantee a fund of about U.S. $ 30 billion a year for the next 2 years, for fighting the pandemic. In the letter, the Former World Leaders wrote that the global cooperation in saving the people from pandemic failed in 2020 and this should not happen in 2021.
The letter read, “Support from the G7 and G20 that makes vaccines readily accessible to low- and middle-income countries is not an act of charity, but rather is in every country’s strategic interest.”
The signatories to the letter included Former Prime Minister of U.K. – Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, Former United Nations (U.N.) Secretary General – Ban-Ki Moon, Former President of Ireland – Mary Robinson, Former Prime Minister of Ireland – Bertie Ahern and 15 African leaders that included Former President of Nigeria – Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Ghana – John Mahama and Former State President of South Africa – FW de Klerk.
Other signatories included Former Overseas Development Minister of U.K. – Lynda Chalker, Virgin Group’s Founder – Sir Richard Branson, Finnish Nobel Laureate for Economics – Bengt Holmström and the Head of the Wellcome Trust – Sir Jeremy Farrar.
Taking it to twitter, Gordon Brown tweeted,
For the G7 to pay is not charity, it is self-protection to stop the disease spreading, mutating and returning to threaten all of us.
— Gordon Brown (@GordonBrown) June 6, 2021
I've signed this letter with 230 others to put pressure on the G7 leaders to act. #VaccineEquity https://t.co/HsXN25max4
In a statement ahead of the summit, the Prime Minister of U.K. – Boris Johnson has also said he will urge his fellow leaders to contribute towards global vaccination.
Besides, this will be the first time that G7 leaders will meet in person since the start of the pandemic. The President of U.S. – Joe Biden is expected to meet his counterparts for the first time after resuming office as the President of U.S.
During the Summit, the leaders will discuss a wide range of topics including debt, climate change and post-Coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery, while experiencing the sandy beach and clear water of Carbis Bay.
Separately the Save the Child Foundation had carried out a survey which found strong support in U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Canada for the G7 members paying U.S. $ 66 billion COVID-19 vaccines globally.
