UNECA tasks G7 leaders on vaccines, green recovery, aid cuts

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has tasked leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on the need for a vaccine roadmap and a green recovery financing and coordination agreement.

Mrs Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the ECA, also called for interrogation on the G7 aid cuts.

ECA’s Director of Communications, Nita Deerpalsing, delivered the message on behalf of Songwe during a media briefing organised by ONE Campaign on Thursday, according to a statement from the ECA on Friday.

The ONE Campaign was with former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown; Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr John Nkengasong; Executive Director of Advocacy, Campaign and Policy for Save the Children Fund, Kirsty McNeill; and England Rugby Player, Maro Itoje.

Ahead of the G7 summit, the UN Under-Secretary-General conveyed the following three points, which capture Africa’s expectation from the G7 leaders.

The Executive Secretary echoed the need for a “historic vaccines roadmap where the G7 stop hoarding, start sharing the financing, the doses and the manufacturing capacity needed to deliver on vaccine access”.

“This would mean one billion doses donated soonest, with two billion donated by the end of the year; the ACT Accelerator and the African vaccines facility fully funded, and the tech shared so we can manufacture vaccines, therapies and diagnostics locally,” she added.

Songwe’s second point was on the urgent need for a historic green recovery financing and coordination agreement.

She stressed leveraging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights and World Bank balance sheets, meeting the 100 billion-dollar climate finance pledge, and doubling individual climate finance pledges by G7 countries.

She further explained that this would ensure African countries had access to liquidity and concessional finance to invest in sustainable green jobs for the youth and counter poverty due to the pandemic and its aftershocks.

The UN official’s third point was an interrogation on the G7 aid cuts, which disproportionately hit and hurt African nations (cut by two-thirds), disproportionately hit women (cut by 80 per cent to 90 per cent), and disproportionately hit the UN system agencies.

“As an African, a woman, and working for the UN, imagine how this makes us feel about the UK as fair play partners as we face these crises together.”

Songwe’s message included a call for the British Prime Minister to “listen to the conscience within his own Conservative Party, and across the generous-hearted British nation, and keep the pledge he made to Africa.

“This would go on record; down in history as having shown enlightened leadership on COVID-19 and on climate when the world most needed it.”

The G7 leaders are scheduled to meet for a three-day summit in the UK from June 11 to June 13,  to discuss issues focused mainly on COVID-19 recovery, climate change and trade.