Islamabad [Pakistan], September 21: Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-HaqKakar said on Wednesday that vaccines should be treated as global goods and available to all countries and companies, the Prime Minister's office said in a statement here.
Addressing the conference on "Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response" held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Kakar said that the intergovernmental negotiations under the auspices of the World Health Organization should determine the distribution of the vaccine.
"We should also commit to remove trade barriers, strengthen supply chains, and facilitate the movement of medical and public health goods by diversifying manufacturing capacities across the regions and promoting technologies for the developing countries," he said.
Kakar said that the pandemic raised global concerns including inequity in the vaccine distribution among the rich and the poor, resistance by the corporate sector, and insistence upon property rights.
Kakar added that scientific research should be accessible to the entire global community as guaranteeing access to every critical scientific breakthrough or discovery is crucial for preserving human lives.
He said that it was time for the international community to rise to the challenge and ensure better preparedness through legally binding obligations for building resilience against future pandemics.
Source: Xinhua