On Monday, The White House announced a global summit to put an end to the COVID-19 crisis and prepare for the future upheaval that will occur on May 12.
Despite President Joe Biden’s struggles to get vital pandemic funding from Congress, the virtual gathering will be co-chaired by the US with the current G7 German president, G20 president Indonesia, African Union chair Senegal, the current chair of the CARICOM Caribbean grouping and Belize.
A joint statement was released by the countries stating, “The summit will redouble our collective efforts to end the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for future health threats”. Conference hosts emphasized the urgency of the situation.
A similar summit was hosted by Biden last September, in which he urged partners to boost vaccine production in order to ensure that 70 per cent of the world’s population is protected by September.
Congress has yet to pass a bill ensuring $10 billion in continued funding for the domestic Covid response, while no agreement has been reached regarding additional funding for vaccine donations abroad.
The virus continues to spread globally, preventing many countries from lifting all restrictions, while Shanghai in China is under a draconian lockdown.
