At its Annual Members’ Meeting, held electronically on 15-17 June 2021, Council for World Mission (CWM) reflected on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on peoples and countries around the world, with particular attention given to vaccine distribution. We issue this open letter out of deep concern for a more just and globally coordinated response to the pandemic, in general, and to the vaccine distribution, in particular.
CWM notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has, more than ever, exposed the inequalities within and between nations. Our own global community has witnessed an increase of deaths on the margins, due to shortage of medical infrastructure and supplies, governmental corruption, unemployment, fanaticism, mental health crises, fear, profiteering from the crisis, decisions about who should be left to die, hunger and so much more that we do not yet know.
Council for World Mission respectfully urges the United Kingdom and other G7 nations to:
1. radically rethink their financial contribution and sharing commitments towards controlling this pandemic
avoiding buying more than their own populations require avoiding profiteering at the expense of life
2. use the COVAX scheme, rather than distributing vaccines directly, to ensure proper process
3. where relevant, reinstate their commitment to a UN foreign aid budget target of 0.7% of GDP
