Gaston Browne warned that humanity must be prepared for future pandemics, especially in the context of climate change. | Photo: United Nations

United Nations, September 26 (RHC)-- The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, demanded this Saturday at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly that vaccines to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic be considered a global good and that they be distributed equitably and at affordable prices.

During his speech, Browne outlined the challenges generated by the pandemic and climate change and described as selfish nationalism the attitude of developed nations not to share their stock of antigens.

He said the world would be better off now if high-income countries understood the importance of redistributing these and other health treatments.  He added that this reluctance to help other nations not only constitutes "vaccine apartheid" as he called it, but also hinders the goal of immunizing 70 percent of the world's population by next year.

Regarding this goal, he considered it a contradiction that only vaccines produced in North America and Europe, and not antigens developed and produced in Caribbean nations, are accepted as valid.

Browne warned that humanity must be prepared for future pandemics, especially in the context of climate change.  In this regard, he urged the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the UN Security Council to mobilize resources and provide a rapid response to the challenges that arise.

On climate change, Browne emphasized the responsibility of the world's major producers to urgently reduce carbon dioxide emissions, otherwise the situation on the planet will be dire.  He proposed that developed nations provide funds for low-income countries and island states to migrate to renewable energies and leave behind their dependence on fossil fuels.

In this regard, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda pointed out that island nations need official development aid, not loans.  He recalled that many poor countries face significant indebtedness and further indebtedness is not a solution.