Argentina calls for equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez on Wednesday called for equitable distribution of vaccines against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In an address to the 27th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, hosted by Andorra, Fernandez urged regional countries to act "united in solidarity" to "guarantee the equitable production and distribution of vaccines," and to find innovative mechanisms that facilitate access to external financing for middle-income countries, his office said in a statement.

"Let us be united, supportive and organized protagonists of a civilization that rebuilds itself to integrate everyone," Fernandez proposed during a virtual speech to the summit, taking place under the banner "Innovation for sustainable development-2030 Goal. Ibero-America facing the challenge of the Coronavirus."

"The world risks an incomplete, uneven and unsustainable recovery," the president warned, adding "it is essential to deepen the transfer of technologies and international financial cooperation, without exclusions."

Fernandez also thanked the "valuable support" of the delegations that accompanied a special document jointly presented by Argentina and Spain on "Access to external financing to combat COVID-19," which seeks to promote the use of all available tools so regional countries are financially better equipped to tackle the pandemic.

"It is imperative" that debt relief initiatives be extended to highly vulnerable middle-income countries, he added.

Argentina reported its first case of COVID-19 on March 3, 2020 and confirmed 2,743,620 cases and 59,792 deaths as of Tuesday. Since late December, it has applied 6,550,568 vaccines against the disease.