Kang Kyung-wha: "Vaccine Procurement Delayed Due to International Supply Cooperation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha explained that the delay in securing COVID-19 vaccines was because the government cooperated with the international community's efforts to ensure equitable vaccine distribution.

Former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha walking onto the stage.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 27th, at the Women's Peace Conference of the National Unification Advisory Council, former Minister Kang said, "We were a bit late regarding vaccines," adding, "The reason for the delay was that we decided to cooperate with the international community and take on the role of a mature and responsible country in the international community, and we actively participated in those discussions."

She stated, "The COVAX Facility, established by the WHO (World Health Organization) with the intention that 20% of the population in every country can receive vaccines equitably, is now facing significant challenges," explaining, "This is because the vaccine-producing countries are holding onto all the vaccines and not sharing them."

She continued, "We also actively participated at the beginning of the (COVAX) discussions, but before we knew it, other countries had already secured vaccines first."

She emphasized, "However, the government's primary responsibility is, above all, to protect the lives of its citizens," and added, "When vaccines became available and observing the trends in other countries, the government made considerable efforts to actively secure vaccines both during my tenure and afterward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.