The Japanese newspaper "Yomiuri" reported today, Saturday, that "the Group of Seven, the world's largest economies, is set to agree on a new program for distributing vaccines to developing countries during the leaders' summit next week." It added, citing Japanese government sources, that "in addition to the G7, countries from the G20 such as India and international groups such as the World Health Organization and the World Bank will also participate."
The newspaper stated that "the new program aims to pool funds from rainy day funds, a term referring to money used for emergencies when necessary funds are unavailable, to produce and purchase vaccines, as well as to invest in low-temperature storage facilities and train health workers to prepare for the next global pandemic."
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVAX Initiative, supported by the World Health Organization and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), provided nearly two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries. However, COVAX faced failures in ensuring equitable access, as wealthy countries prioritized vaccinating their citizens, while inadequate storage facilities in poorer countries delayed supplies and led to the disposal of millions of doses approaching expiration.
