Arturo Sanchez Jimenez
Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, January 23, 2022, p. 6
Mexico stated before the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) that the distribution of vaccines against covid-19 in the world is facing a severe and uncomfortable setback that does not give rise to self-indulgent visions
.
The permanent representative of Mexico to the United Nations, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, said that the organization’s actions on this issue have shown our limitations and symptoms of incompetence
.
The reality has been harsher than we would like. We failed to achieve the goals that we had before the pandemic and now we face a severe and uncomfortable setback, which does not give rise to self-satisfied visions
said De la Fuente, according to information released by the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the UN.
The diplomat stressed that, two years ago, the General Assembly unequivocally stated in resolution 74/274 that the great challenge was to try to guarantee equity in the distribution of vaccines and medicines, which were not yet produced, but I anticipated that they would arrive soon.
▲ In CDMX, families also go with their children to detect if they have the virus.Photo Jose Antonio Lopez
Today, with human, political, economic and social costs then unsuspected, we still have not found the solution
he claimed.
The challenge, he continued, remains, and guaranteeing universal access to vaccines remains the greatest challenge.
The Covax mechanism, he said, fell far short of its goals.
It is unacceptable that 36 UN member states have vaccinated less than 10 percent of their population and another 88 have vaccinated less than 40 percent. What these figures show is that leaving no one behind is going to require a new and vigorous strategy if we want it to stop being just a utopia
.
He stated that the UN has the support of Mexico in everything that contributes to achieving a sustainable economic recovery and a greater emphasis on preventive diplomacy.
