French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday to “accelerate” the organization of vaccination campaigns against covid-19 in emerging countries, during an interview with the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“I’m a little concerned” about this issue, Macron said, at the beginning of the videoconference interview with Tedros. “Clearly, we must accelerate the organization of vaccination campaigns in poor and emerging countries,” particularly in Africa, he added.
Tedros, speaking from Geneva, stressed the importance of a “fair distribution” of the vaccine in Africa and Latin America in particular, and thanked the French president for his “leadership” on this issue.
Macron also advocated “increasing vaccine production capacities in the world, multiplying alliances between producers and technology transfers to developing countries,” according to the presidency.
More than 132.3 million doses of anticovid vaccines have been administered in at least 87 countries or territories, according to a count carried out by AFP from official sources until this Monday at 4:30 p.m. GMT.
Almost two thirds (64%) injected into “high” income countries (according to the World Bank), where only 16% of the world’s population lives.