A fair shot: World Bank, WHO urge unity in global vaccine efforts

Even after vaccinations are widespread, a small coronavirus outbreak anywhere has the potential to jeopardise economic gains and recovery everywhere, officials from the World Bank, World Health Organization and UNICEF said. 

Financing, transparency in vaccine development, national political will and global solidarity will all be essential in ensuring the world’s poorest countries gain access to coronavirus vaccines, officials from several major international organisations stressed at a World Bank forum on Friday. “Where there are gaps, we must move quickly to fill them,” David Malpass, the president of the World Bank Group, said during the virtual panel discussion. “It’s critical to get economies growing faster and to keep more families from falling into poverty.” The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are holding their annual spring meetings this week with talks focused primarily on the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis.