G7: World Bank blames vaccination inequality for two-phase economic recovery

The uneven distribution of vaccines will have an impact on the global economic recovery, especially in Africa and Latin America, World Bank Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said on Saturday at a conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit. .

“The outlook for the global economic recovery shows a divergent path between a two-level recovery or a K-shaped recovery. [queda rápida com uma subsequente recuperação diferenciada]With the developed world and some emerging markets doing very well in terms of recovery, some of the developing world and low income countries lagging behind.”

The Nigerian economist continued that these trends are being repeated at the level of trade, where the World Bank expects growth of 8% this year and 4% in 2022, with Asia and North America recovering faster, and Latin America and Africa lagging behind.

“We believe that vaccine inequality is partly responsible for the different levels of recovery that we see in global trade and the economy,” he said.

It is expected that this summit will come out with commitments to donate at least one billion vaccines to disadvantaged countries, of which the United States has advanced 500 million and the United Kingdom 100 million by 2022.

Okonjo-Iweala welcomed the pledges but said more was needed, citing an article he co-wrote with other international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the need for about $50 billion (€41,300 million) to boost production and distribution. of vaccines.

“If we have these resources to help implement the vaccine, we can vaccinate 40% of the world’s population this year and up to 60% next year, and we can drive a global recovery,” he said.

He also called for an end to export restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, which also affects complex supply chains, giving the example of the Pfizer vaccine, which contains 180 ingredients manufactured at 86 sites in 19 different countries.

If this plan is implemented, global GDP could earn about nine billion dollars (7.4 billion euros) by 2025, of which 40% will be for developed countries and the rest for emerging and developing markets.

The leaders of the G7 countries (Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom) and the European Union are meeting today in Carbis Bay, in Cornwall, southwest England, where he is meeting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio. Guterres, and the leaders of Australia, South Africa, South Korea, India, and the latter via video conferencing.

Today the summit includes sessions dedicated to the economy, foreign policy and health, and concludes on Sunday with discussions on the environment, with the closing statement and press conferences scheduled for early Sunday afternoon.