Luanda - The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, Thursday, in New York, defended the need of recognition of the covid-19 vaccine as a universal good, as well as its open access to allow a greater production and equitable distribution worldwide.
In his speech during the debate at the 76th United Nations General Assembly, the Angolan Head of State referred to the urgency of establishing, in practical terms, the general understanding that solidarity and the simplification of processes in the access to vaccines is the only way capable of leading the world to victory in the fight against the covid-19 pandemic, by allowing, in the widest possible way, the immunization of the inhabitants of our planet.
He also said it was "shocking to see the disparity between some nations and others regarding the availability of vaccines, because these differences allow, in some cases, to administer third doses, while in Africa, the vast majority of the population is not vaccinated, even with the first dose".
In this context, he defended the need for discussion and approval, by the United Nations, of decisions favourable to the liberalisation of patents for vaccine production, so that vaccines can be used by an increasing number of countries, making them more accessible to all.
He also said that "all the effects and consequences of covid-19 that are registered elsewhere also had a hard social economic impact in the Republic of Angola".
However, he added, "we were able to act in time, with rigour and enough determination, to contain the spread of the contamination on a scale that allowed us to keep the levels of contagion within the limits of the response capacity of our health structures".
Even so, he said, the evaluation of the damages derived from covid-19 to our economy give us worrying results for which we have now been looking for solutions that help to mitigate them in order to alleviate the suffering of the populations.
However, President João Lourenço said, "we have been able to count on support and initiatives that deserve all our appreciation because they allow us some relief in terms of our financial responsibilities towards our creditors, which enables us to have some capacity for our enormous and multiple needs.
Faced with this situation, in which the living conditions of the population and the economic and social fabric have deteriorated significantly, he added, "we need to reflect deeply so that lasting solutions can be found. That will serve as a basis for the reconstruction of the economies most severely affected by the world health crisis".
