Duterte calls for equitable vaccine distribution at Gavi summit

President Rodrigo Duterte stressed the need to correct the imbalance in Covid-19 vaccine distribution during the Gavi COVAX AMC Summit, warning that an unequal recovery would result from the current situation.

He highlighted that developed countries have secured over 80 percent of the global vaccine supply, with less than 1 percent going to poorer countries.

Duterte reiterated the Philippines' pledge of USD1 million to the WHO-led COVAX initiative to help accelerate global vaccination efforts.

The summit, hosted by Japan, aimed to raise an additional $2 billion to speed up access to 1.8 billion vaccine doses for low-income countries.

The COVAX global facility is facing supply and financing problems that hamper its target to distribute two billion doses to developing countries in 2021.

The Philippines expects to receive about 44 million vaccines, enough to cover some 15% to 20% of the country's population, with approximately 2.7 million doses delivered as of May and more Pfizer doses expected in June.