Duterte to UN: ‘Gross injustice’ if COVID-19 vaccine inaccessible to poor nations

President Rodrigo Duterte said poor nations should not be left behind in gaining access to the vaccine that will put a halt to the COVID-19 pandemic, rallying governments to act “not as separate nations, but one humanity.”

“If any country is excluded by reason of poverty or strategic unimportance, this gross injustice will haunt the world for a long time.  It will completely discredit the values upon which the United Nations was founded,” he said in a recorded message before the special session of the UN General Assembly on COVID-19.

"We cannot let this happen, no one is safe unless everyone is safe,” he said.

Duterte pushed anew for universal access to safe and effective COVID- 19 vaccines and technologies, stressing that “life-saving services and products must be made accessible to the most vulnerable. The most to the least.”

"Our first priority is to strengthen the capacity of health systems. Without the cure and vaccine, we can only delay the spread of the disease," he said.

The president also expressed strong support for the global medical and scientific initiatives forged at the WHO, including the ACT Accelerator, COVAX Facility, and C-TAP. He further reaffirmed that the Philippines will do its part by contributing in the pooling of global resources and helping other countries without preconditions.

“Our collective initiatives in the UN and other multilateral frameworks are our best chance to defeat COVID-19," he said.

As nations continue to face the pandemic, Duterte said that the international community must already draw up a bounce back strategy – one that aims for a comprehensive and inclusive recovery.

He told the international body that the Philippines has adopted a "no one left behind recovery plan built on solid economic funding allocation equivalent to 9.1 percent GDP (Gross Domestic Product)."

The President also defended the prolonged lockdown imposed since early this year, saying that the move sped up the adaption of the country to technology that spurred e-commerce and also "inadvertently, laid bare how interconnected societies had become."

Duterte also expressed support for global ceasefire, especially for vulnerable countries amid the fight against terrorism.

"Combatting terrorism is as urgent in my country, this fight is about protecting life while saving democracy without resorting to violence," he said.

Duterte said that cooperation among nations is the key to ending the pandemic.

"The time is now for greater collective courage, meaningful actions to see the end of this pandemic with the path clear in working with each other act not as separate nations but one humanity," he said.

The Special Session was held pursuant to Resolution 75/4 adopted by the General Assembly on 5 November 2020 to reaffirm the key role of the United Nations in maintaining global order, especially in the face of an unprecedented global public health crisis. It was first proposed by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), where the Philippines is a member.—BAP, GMA News