G20: Brazil aims to create coalition for regional vaccine production
Health ministers from the G20 countries are meeting this week in Rio de Janeiro. The assembly should see the nations reach a consensus on the production of vaccines and medicines. The group’s summit will be held on November 18 and 19, also in Rio, under the presidency of Brazil.
At a press conference Tuesday (Oct. 29), Brazilian Minister Nísia Trindade said the greatest contribution the G20 can make to global health will be to support the creation of a coalition for the local and regional production of vaccines and medicines in countries and regions that have difficulty accessing them.
“This will be unprecedented. We have been working to reduce inequality between countries and to increase access. This is the main measure we hope will be approved. We cannot continue with the dependency seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many countries took a long time to administer the first dose of the vaccine,” she went on to say.
The minister further said Brazil will also defend the expansion of digital health strategies, measures to mitigate the effects of climate change, and the creation of an instrument to deal with new pandemics.
The country also plans to share the experience of its Saúde com Ciência platform, which aims to combat disinformation on health-related issues.
