Qatar Affirms Its Firm Position on Equal Access to COVID-19 Vaccines

Doha, Qatar

The State of Qatar has affirmed its firm humanitarian and moral position that all must be fairly given COVID-19 vaccines, stressing that overcoming the pandemic requires solidarity and a sense of shared responsibility by all to find a solution.

This came in the statement of the State of Qatar before the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, during the panel discussion on ensuring all countries have comprehensive, equitable, affordable, and timely access to vaccines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the beginning of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of Qatar has realized the importance of dealing with it in a spirit of joint responsibility, has taken urgent and effective measures to address its repercussions, and has provided various types of international aid that have benefited more than 80 countries in the world, the statement said.

The statement added that there was no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic had been the greatest health challenge facing humanity in decades, noting that despite the emergence of some positive indicators of making progress towards the end of this pandemic, the continual inequality in the distribution of vaccines and their limited access to a large number of people around the world pose a threat to the end of the pandemic.

Regarding ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines for all, the statement indicated Qatar's support for efforts related to fair and equal access to vaccines for all without any discrimination, adding that Qatar provided support to the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) and the COVAX Facility, as well as the World Health Organization and the humanitarian initiative to provide COVID-19 vaccines to the most vulnerable groups, especially refugees, IDPs, and migrants.

The statement indicated that Qatar, in cooperation with some countries, launched the Group of Friends of Solidarity for Global Health Security to combat the pandemic, which aims to provide an unofficial platform for member states to exchange views on ways of multilateral cooperation in how to effectively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health security challenges. (QNA)