President Luis Abinader deplored the process of distributing coronavirus vaccines, where the richest countries have monopolized them in an unfair way, denying access to lower-income countries, in contradiction with any notion of human solidarity that they raise these times.
In his speech at the XXVII Iberoamerican Summit of Heads of State and Government, Abinader made it clear that they are not advocating for humanitarian aid, not a charity fund, but a model of production and redistribution.
“Let it be clear. We are not advocating for humanitarian aid or charitable funds. What we are proposing is an alliance for development that will allow us to move as a region to a new productive and redistributive model,” he said.
He said the sense of vulnerability they have discovered with the coronavirus makes the plant’s responsibility more evident, and leads governments to reverse the trajectory they have taken so far.
“However, and despite the need for a renewed multilateral vision, in the process of distributing vaccines against Covid-19, we have observed that the richest countries have adopted hoarding policies that unfortunately and unfairly deny access to them in low- and middle-income countries, contrary to any notion of human solidarity, ”he said. the Dominican president.
Abinader referred to the point of view of ECLAC, that to face the health crisis by the coronavirus requires political and social pacts that allow to universalize the social protection and the health.
Here is the full speech:
President Abinader’s speech for the Ibero-American Summit
Dear friends,
Right now, our region and the world are facing great challenges that can only be addressed from a renewed multilateralism. Indeed, in the face of the pandemic, the climate emergency, technological transformation and the need to articulate a new paradigm for the welfare state, it is necessary to strengthen unity and cooperation among the Ibero-American peoples.
The Dominican government, like that of other countries, has made enormous efforts to alleviate the effects of this health and economic crisis, allocating large funds to the most affected sectors of the population, so that they are not left unprotected by the decline in income. But in addition, we have deployed health resources to curb the increase in infection, and we have successfully started the vaccination process.
Prior to the pandemic, however, in Ibero-America there was a crisis of regionalism in the paralysis of the mechanisms of integration and disintegration that our countries showed in the multilateral forums.
In this period, there was also a certain economic stagnation, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, which recorded, in the period 2014-2019, the lowest growth since the fifties.
Dear colleagues, these are very worrying facts that force us to redouble our efforts for regional integration and the strengthening of multilateralism.
To achieve this, a reorientation in the priorities of public spending and in the way we govern our societies is urgent. We need to move towards a development model that seeks a fairer distribution of the great wealth that humanity can generate today, the protection of human rights and the environment, as well as the upgrading of democratic political institutions to new technologies.
This new paradigm must be oriented towards the protection of democracy and human rights, above all, in the face of the risks posed by inequality and crises, which, like the current one, generate great stress in democratic governance.
As ECLAC has pointed out: “To deal with the health crisis, political and social pacts will be needed that are built with the participation of a wide variety of actors, which will allow the universalization of social protection and health …”.
The universality of the disease and the crisis have strengthened the interconnection in the world. Diversity, equity, solidarity are principles that permeate more intensely within a more complex, diverse and global social fabric.
The feeling of vulnerability, which we suddenly discover through the virus, makes our responsibility to the planet more evident, and it must lead us to make decisions to reverse the trajectory we have taken so far.
However, and despite the need for a renewed multilateral vision, in the process of distributing vaccines against Covid-19, we have observed that richer countries have adopted hoarding policies that deny, in a regrettable way. and unfair, access to them in low- and middle-income countries, in contradiction with any notion of human solidarity.
Let it be very clear. We are not advocating for humanitarian aid or charitable funds. What we are proposing is an alliance for development that allows us to move as a region to a new productive and redistributive model.
I cannot end this intervention without referring to the tourism sector, which has been, for us and other countries, an engine of economic growth for decades. This important sector is severely affected by the health crisis, and beyond this situation, in the Caribbean, the effects of climate change are already being felt as the degradation of marine ecosystems and rising sea levels they destroy our shores.
Friends, the world has reached a turning point, which forces us to consider another model of development, fair, green and sustainable. We will succeed together or fail separately, the decision is ours alone. Thank you so much.