On this occasion, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stated that globally the world is witnessing a positive trend in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of new cases and fatalities continues to decline, nearly 12 billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered globally, and the current supply of vaccines is sufficient to meet the global vaccination needs.
This achievement cannot be separated from COVAX's role and serves as evidence that multilateralism can produce results.
However, the COVAX task is not over as the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. The vaccination gap persists even though the global vaccine supply is adequate.
"The vaccine gap still exists. Many high-risk people in low-income countries have not received the vaccination. The vaccination rate does not balance the number of available vaccine doses," said Minister Retno in a media release on Wednesday.
"It is important to immediately encourage vaccines into vaccinations. For this reason, it is necessary to renew global focus on two important issues, namely giving priority to funding for vaccination efforts and integrating the COVID-19 vaccination into other health interventions," Minister Retno added.
Furthermore, Minister Retno emphasized that COVAX has become an inseparable part of the global health architecture.
The existence of COVAX is important to maintain multi-stakeholder solidarity at the global level and preserve equal access to health solutions, especially for developing countries.
“This is the fundamental reason why COVAX must continue to exist after 2022 and after the pandemic," said Minister Retno.
The COVAX AMC is a global mechanism that aims to distribute vaccine for free to its 92 member countries, which have low and middle to low incomes.
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As of April 3, 2022, Indonesia has received 130,662,975 doses of vaccine from the COVAX AMC and the bilateral dose-sharing scheme.
Overall, COVAX has delivered 1.5 billion doses of vaccine to 144 countries, 88% of which were sent to 87 AMC countries.
