Sri Mulyani: Pandemic Creates Competition for Vaccines Access

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati opined that the COVID-19 pandemic created a competition between developed and developing countries to acquire access to vaccines.

“So getting access to vaccines, especially for underdeveloped countries, will be very difficult,” said Sri at the Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Thursday, December 9.

She said the global production of COVID-19 vaccines should be able to vaccinate 80 percent of the world's population. However, in reality, the vaccines were not evenly distributed, especially for undeveloped and developing countries.

COVID-19 vaccination in some developing countries, for example, is still lagging far behind and inversely proportional to that in advanced countries, which have averagely reached 80 percent of the population.

Thus, Sri said the G20 established a Joint Finance Health Task Force to prepare the world to deal with health disasters, such as the current lingering pandemic, create early response strategies, and prevent deeper impacts on the social sustainability and economy. 

“Damage [caused by a pandemic] should not be too significant not only for humans but also for the economy,” said the former managing director of World Bank.

G20 would later formulate a synchronized exit strategy policy in order to achieve an equitable recovery, including equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Sri Mulyani also said G20 members would have a lot of discussion and communication. “The most important thing is actions or policies that build global trust,” she said.

Read: WHO to Vaccinate 40% Population of Every Country Against COVID-19 by End 2021

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