G20 Health Ministers Adopt 'Rome Agreement'... Pledge to Enhance Vaccine Distribution in Developing Countries

Roberto Speranza, Italian Minister of Health
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The health ministers of the Group of Twenty (G20) adopted the "Rome Agreement" on the 6th (local time), which centers on increasing efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to underdeveloped countries.

The G20 health ministers agreed to adopt the agreement after concluding a two-day meeting starting on the 5th in Rome, Italy.

The 11-page Rome Agreement includes a political commitment to strengthen health and economic support for poor countries severely affected by COVID-19 and to send more vaccines to these nations.

Roberto Speranza, Italy's Minister of Health and chair of this year's G20 summit, stated at a press conference, "The level of vaccine inequality is extremely severe and no longer sustainable," adding, "If any part of the world remains a vaccine blind spot, we must prepare for the emergence of another variant." He continued, "Our message is very clear," emphasizing, "No one should be left out of the vaccine campaign."

However, there are criticisms that the Rome Agreement does not specifically mention new economic or financial contribution measures. In response, Minister Speranza explained that related measures will be discussed at the upcoming joint G20 finance and health ministers' meeting scheduled for next month.

Most developing countries receive vaccines through the international vaccine procurement project "COVAX," led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others. So far, the amount allocated to developing countries through COVAX is 230 million doses across 139 countries, which falls far short of the target of 2 billion doses by the end of this year.

Because the supply volume is limited, and the United States and Europe have been aggressively stockpiling vaccines, the amount of vaccines available to developing countries has significantly decreased. Currently, there is a large gap in vaccination rates between developed and developing countries. Amid this situation, concerns have been raised that if developed countries actively pursue or have already begun administering booster shots (additional doses to enhance preventive effects) and secure additional vaccine supplies, the vaccine shortage in developing countries will worsen.

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