Joe Biden takes part, Friday February 19, in his first meeting of the G7 as president of the United States, a virtual conference during which the leaders of the great world powers will discuss plans to overcome the health crisis and for a better distribution vaccines.

The US president, who took office on January 20, will focus on "the global response to the pandemic, including vaccine production, product distribution" and efforts to fight emerging infections, the spokesperson said on Thursday. of the White House.

It must in particular be a question of the UN Covax system, founded by several international organizations, including the WHO, and which Washington has promised to join soon.

Joe Biden will also promise, at this G7 meeting, four billion dollars for this device.

The Covax program aims to provide vaccines against Covid-19 to 20% of the population of nearly 200 participating countries and territories this year, but above all it includes a funding mechanism that allows 92 low and middle income economies to have access to precious doses.

If the great powers have started massive vaccination campaigns against Covid-19, with varying success, concern is mounting about disadvantaged countries.

"An unprecedented acceleration of global inequalities"

On the eve of the G7 meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron, deeming "unsustainable" that poor countries be neglected, pleaded in the Financial Times for rich countries to send 3% to 5% of their available doses to the Africa "very quickly, and that people see them arriving on the ground".

"I say: 'let's transfer 3% or 5% today of the vaccines we have in stock to Africa.' It has no impact on the pace of the vaccination strategy (in rich countries). not slow down a day, given the use of our doses today, "he says.

"It is in the interest of the French and Europeans" because "I have more than 10 million of our fellow citizens who have families on the other side of the Mediterranean", underlines the French president.

"If we let the idea settle that hundreds of millions of vaccines are being made in rich countries and that we do not start in poor countries, it is unsustainable," said Emmanuel Macron.

"It is rather an unprecedented acceleration of global inequalities" and "it is politically unsustainable in the long term because it is what allows to install a war of influence of vaccines. And you can see the Chinese strategy, the strategy Russian too. "

It is necessary, according to him, "to put a very strong pressure" on the big pharmaceutical laboratories to increase the production of vaccines.

If they "do not play the game of cooperation, the political question of intellectual property will inevitably rise in all our countries", as well as "the debate on the surplus profits made on the scarcity of the vaccine".

"The objective is to take on board a maximum of European and non-European partners. But if everyone is not on board, France will engage" and give these 5% of doses, specified the Elysee.

These will be either donations or low cost sales.

Appeal to Russia and China

"We very much hope that tomorrow (at the G7) the United States will show a greater commitment, including financial" in the Covax device for the allocation of vaccines to poor countries, adds the Elysee.

"The mechanism for donating doses is open to the Russians and the Chinese. The Chinese often recall their adherence to multilateralism, they have the opportunity with Covax to prove it, rather than a bilateral approach with a logic of vaccine diplomacy , or even patronage, ”notes Paris.

Emmanuel Macron has participated in recent days in several meetings on this vaccine issue, including the last Wednesday with African leaders, to advocate for an acceleration of the availability of vaccines in poor countries.

He also spoke Thursday with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the two men sharing "the objective of making the vaccine a global public good", according to the Elysee.

For his part, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who can boast of the success of his vaccination campaign, has already promised to redistribute most of his surplus through the Covax device.

Beyond the Covid-19, he intends to advocate for strengthened health cooperation, to reduce to 100 days the time necessary for the development of vaccines against new diseases.

With AFP and Reuters

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