Azernews.Az

By Vafa Ismayilova

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has reported that on March 23, 2021 a resolution was adopted entitled "Ensuring equal, affordable, timely and universal access to vaccines against COVID-19" within the framework of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the initiative of Azerbaijan as the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

"The resolution draws attention to the negative human rights impact of the inequitable and unequal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines among developed and developing countries and highlights that this is one of the main obstacles to the complete elimination of the pandemic, as well as to the achievement of the goals set in the UN Agenda in the field of sustainable development. The resolution emphasizes the importance of global solidarity and multilateral cooperation in overcoming the pandemic, in this regard, noted that the importance of the special session of the UN General Assembly on the COVID-19 pandemic held on December 3-4, 2020 at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement," the ministry said.

The resolution calls on UN Member States and other relevant bodies (international organizations, private sector representatives, civil society members, etc.) to take appropriate measures to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are distributed fairly among all states. At the same time, the resolution, which expresses support for international initiatives created to support equitable distribution of vaccines, including the COVAX initiative, calls on all states to remove unnecessary barriers on the export of vaccines to other countries.

The resolution was supported by 133 states, which is a very high indicator for resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council. The co-authors are countries of different regions of the world, with different economic indicators and belonging to different political groups. To reach a consensus on the resolution in Geneva, negotiations have long been held in the framework of the UN Human Rights Council.

The above resolution was put forward in accordance with the position expressed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the NAM will not disregard the unfair and unequal distribution of vaccines against COVID throughout the world and according to the results obtained, the ministry said that, like the previous initiatives of the head of state to combat the pandemic, this initiative received global support in a short period of time.

The ministry noted that at the Azerbaijani president's initiative, on March 5, 2021, the NAM Coordinating Bureau in New York adopted a Communiqué on the relevant issue.

"Azerbaijan's Chairmanship of the NAM continues to be at the center of multilateral efforts in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," the ministry said.

In mid-March, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov stated that Azerbaijan is fighting against the coronavirus pandemic systematically. Asadov noted that on behalf of the head of state, all resources were involved in the fight against the pandemic. He added that the shortage of medical masks and medicines had been eliminated, the number of laboratories had been increased, modular hospitals had been created, and medical personnel from foreign countries had been invited.

In 2020, the pandemic-related healthcare costs in the country amounted to 644 million manat ($378.8 million). The Coronavirus Response Fund collected 114 million manat ($67 million), through which the vaccine was purchased and delivered to the country, he said.

“To date, about 460,000 people have been vaccinated against coronavirus in the country,” the PM added.

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