In an opinion piece for British newspaper the Financial Times on Wednesday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier together with four other state leaders: King Abdullah II of Jordan, presidents Halimah Yacob of Singapore, Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia and Lenin Moreno Garces of Ecuador, issued a strong call for global cooperation in fighting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
"There cannot be victory over the virus in one, or some, countries alone. We all have something to contribute regardless of the size of our economies or populations. A global solution is in everybody's self-interest," says the letter, underscoring that this is the time to put aside “geopolitical turf battles" and work towards pooling scientific research to fight the pandemic.
Faced with the tremendous challenge of the fast-spreading disease that transcends borders, the statesmen deplored the fact that nations were “turning inward” in their attempts to tackle the crisis.
While border shutdowns and other drastic measures are imperative to stunt the spread of the virus, barriers that “hinder knowledge exchange” should be removed, stressed the letter.
Emphasizing that nations and economies are almost grinding to a halt over the onslaught of the disease, the letter suggests that as unprecedented measures of lockdown and social distancing will be difficult to maintain for a length of time, as countries are at varying stages of the pandemic.
Any procrastination, write the statesmen, spells death, as “we all face the same enemy”.
The letter points to lessons to be learned from history of other outbreaks of disease, such as tuberculosis, smallpox, Ebola, and Aids, as all have been defeated by shared scientific research and medical knowledge, which resulted in therapies and vaccines.
Therein lies the answer to the current global predicament, say the statesmen, as they applauded the commitment of the G20 leaders to take urgent measures to address the crisis, but reiterated that no “single global entity covers the medical, economic, and political elements required to produce a vaccine for all who need it.”
Concluding their appeal, the five state leaders suggest the “World Health Organization, World Bank Group, the IMF, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as global international vaccine alliances, philanthropic foundations, scientists and private-sector pharmaceutical companies” come together to mobilize all available human resources to rise up to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Objectives
According to the heads of state, the suggested global alliance would be targeting four key objectives.
Firstly, accelerated research and development of treatments and vaccines via boosted funding and accompanied by unprecedented transparency measures.
Secondly, speedy production and subsequently globally equitable distribution of testing kits and critical medical equipment.
Thirdly, while scaling-up production of future therapies and vaccines against coronavirus, ensuring that they will be equally and fairly distributed to all corners of the world, and made available to such “vulnerable populations such as refugees”.
Fourthly, the alliance would tout the benefits of a co-ordinated global search for an eventual treatment and a vaccine for the pandemic as an exemplary “global public good”.
While acknowledging that an alliance of such magnitude would be very difficult to forge and operate, the letter insists it is well worth the effort as it would “tap into the huge reservoir of people’s hopes and better instincts”.
“Our decisions over the course of the coming weeks and months will determine what the world will look like tomorrow,” concludes the letter.
The call comes as the number of infections worldwide from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has climbed to over 873,000, with over 42,200 deaths.
During a virtual emergency meeting on 26 march the G20 group of nations focused on efforts to set up a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to deal with its economic impact.
The leaders of the world's top 20 biggest economies pledged to speed up coordinated efforts to ensure adequate funding to contain the global COVID-19 pandemic and protect citizens, promising to do "whatever it takes" to overcome the threat.
In a joint statement issued following the summit, the G20 committed to work together to increase R&D funding for vaccines and other medicines, with enhanced international scientific cooperation, boosted sharing of epidemiological and health data, and practices proven to work in fighting the virus.