Momen stresses formulation of global health strategy to deal with Covid-19 like pandemics
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has emphasised on formulating a global health strategy to deal with future pandemics like Covid-19 in an integrated and effective manner.
He said this at the opening session of the foreign ministerial meeting on the Covid-19 Global Action Plan held in New York on Friday (23 September).
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen hosted the meeting jointly with the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez Bueno and Botswana Foriegn Minister Lemogang Kwape.
In addition to the foreign ministers of several countries including Japan, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the director general of the World Health Organization and high-level representatives of a significant number of countries and organisations participated in the meeting.
Momen highlighted Bangladesh's extraordinary success in managing Covid-19 under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
He said the key to this success is saving lives as well as sustaining livelihood resources, providing special assistance to the most vulnerable and ensuring rapid reconstruction of the economy affected by the epidemic by providing timely incentives.
He said Bangladesh is ready to share the experience and knowledge gained in managing Covid with others.
Appreciating the multilateral platforms like ACT-A and COVAX set up and run under the auspices of the World Health Organization to facilitate access to vaccines and other covid materials, the Foreign Minister emphasised the need for coordinated multilateral initiatives to address the global challenge.
Reminding that the fight against the Covid pandemic is not yet over, he emphasized on the continuation of the immunization programme. The foreign minister reiterated the importance of declaring vaccines a "global public good" and distributing them among all countries without discrimination.