- Excellencies
- Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
First, I would like to commend Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Gavi Board Chair José Manuel Barroso for convening this summit.
The COVAX initiative has already saved many lives, including in Rwanda.
Our country has received more than 500,000 doses via COVAX, allowing us to vaccinate nearly 3 percent of our population.
Tens of millions of doses have been delivered worldwide.
I commend Gavi, the World Health Organisation, and CEPI for the good work done so far.
However, billions of people are still exposed to the dangers of Covid-19.
The shortfall in Africa is particularly acute.
We must redouble our efforts, and also diversify the sources of vaccine available to COVAX, even as we work to build Africa’s vaccine production capacity for the future.
The COVAX Advance Market Commitment, led by Gavi, is the financing mechanism that ensures vaccine access for low- and middle-income countries.
Now is the time to ensure COVAX has the funds to keep saving lives and help bring the Covid-19 pandemic to an end.
Thank you for your attention.