Latin America leaders push for free access to COVID-19 vaccine at United Nations

At the United Nations General Assembly, Latin American leaders appealed to the international community to allow them free access to the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, September 26. At the UN meeting, the leaders urged major powers to share their research and other relevant information with Latin American nations for the sake of global health and well-being.

Read: UK Announces New COVID Measures, $13k Fine On Violating Rules Amid Second Wave

COVID-19 vaccine must be ‘global public good’: Argentine President

Latin America has suffered greatly with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is one of the most severely affected continents with Brazil having reported over 4.5 million positive cases and a death toll of nearly 150,000. As per reports, Latin America has almost nine million cases in total. On top of that, the lockdown restrictions as well as the impact on trade, the economies of Latin American countries have also been negatively impacted.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez during his address to the UN General Assembly is reported to have said that the COVID-19 vaccine must be made a ‘global public good’, adding that no one can survive the pandemic alone in these trying times. So far, only 11 potential COVID-19 vaccines have reached the final trial phases with many leading world powers backing one or multiple vaccines.

Read: 'US Isolating Itself From International Community': China Spokesperson Over UN Resolution

African leaders appeal for aid from the UN

Earlier on Thursday, African Nations appeal to world leaders for financial assistance to overcome the struggle of the COVID-19 pandemic at the United Nations General Assembly. As per reports, Africa's 54 countries have estimated that the continent would need $100 billion every year for the next 3 years in order to survive the pandemic.

African leaders during their address pointed out that western countries had spent trillion in an effort to revive their own economies. As per reports, almost all African speakers emphasised multilateralism in their UNGA speech. African leaders also appealed for debt cancellation so that those resources could be focused elsewhere in an effort to survive the pandemic.

(Image Credits: AP)

Read: Africa Seeks Financial Aid From UN Leaders To Overcome Struggles Of COVID-19 Pandemic

Read: Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari Urges UN To Ensure COVID-19 Vaccine For All