Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza stressed that everyone should have access to a future COVID-19 vaccine at the end of his address at the 73rd World Health Assembly.
“The development of a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 is a fundamental challenge,” Speranza said during the assembly, which opened on May 18. “We must work for the vaccine to be considered a global public good, a right for everyone and not a privilege for the few”.
He added that, in his message, he wanted to highlight “the importance of the WHO (World Health Organization) and the need to reinforce its central role, above all in a time of crisis. This means working together to construct a stronger agency, rethinking its role and its functions,” he said.
Guided by science
“We must ensure that it is completely independent from external, political or financial influences and it is only guided by science. So it is important that the States contribute with human and financial resources with the sole aim of improving the preparation and response of the individual countries with the high-level technical and scientific support of the agency at the service of all individuals”, he added.
Health is an investment
“The pandemic has shown us that investing in health must be at the centre of every country’s development. It is a necessity. Health is not a cost, it is an investment”. “Health is not a prize for development but a requirement for it. Never more than today have we needed a healtier, safer and more just world. And a strong WHO”.
Source: Ansa
Fonte Salute.gov.it News