With the onset of 2021, there is hope that widespread vaccination against Covid-19 will bring the long-awaited pandemic relief. Much now depends on the outcome of the race between a mutating virus and vaccines to end the pandemic. There remains tremendous uncertainty and prospects vary greatly across countries.
Rich countries have accumulated extensive supply deals for vaccines, and ultra-cold storage requirements make some vaccines difficult to deliver to far-flung places. Some countries may have to wait until 2022 or later before supplies are widely available.
Ensuring rapid and broad global access to vaccinations to correct the deep inequity in access that currently exists will require ramping up production and bolstering funding for the global vaccination initiative COVAX and for the logistics of vaccine delivery to poorer nations.
Against this background, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung has commissioned a series of short country and regional studies written by authors from the Global South and East. They shed light on the different realities and give recommendations to European and US policy makers. Short video statements by the authors will be the basis of a discussion among policy makers and experts from the EU, the US, and South Africa on this highly pressing topic.
15:05-15:20
Key Note Speech by Barbara Unmüßig, President, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin
15:20-16:00
Debate with:
- Anna Cavazzini, Member of the European Parliament (Greens/EFA Group)
- Ignacio García Bercero, Director – Multilateral Affairs, Strategy, Analysis, Evaluation, Directorate-General for Trade, European Commission, Brussels
- Katherine E. Bliss, Senior Fellow, Global Health Policy Center, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
- Zane Dangor, Special Adviser to Dr Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Johannesburg
Moderation: Bastian Hermission, Director, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung,
Washington, DC
16:00-16:30
Q & A with the audience
Working language: English
More Infos: https://calendar.boell.de/en/covid19-vaccines
Register HERE
