NEW YORK, DECEMBER 11 – Since the very start of the Coronavirus pandemic, Italy has called for a coordinated, cohesive and inclusive action: “In the endorsement of these principles, the ‘Team Europe’ package has allowed the European Commission and its member states to act together to support the most vulnerable countries”, Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Permanent Representative of Italy at the UN in New York, said during a virtual event organized by the EU and Germany -which currently holds the European Presidency- in occasion of the Special General Assembly Session on Covid-19.
“Italy strongly supports this innovative, flexible and pragmatic approach: an example to follow also in other contexts, especially in regards to the reconstruction phase, in order to ensure that this global recovery will be sustainable, resilient, equal, and considerate of the needs of developing countries,” said the Ambassador during an online dialogue which outlined the action taken by the EU in support of developing countries, through the instrument ‘Team Europe’.
“The instruments and the innovative platforms of collaboration which have come to exist in these past months -like the ACT Accelerator and the COVAX Facility, promised and sustained by the EU and Italy- are demonstrative of the fact that the protection of global public goods, such as health, requires active involvement from all actors. This is the objective which Italy is looking to fulfill through its G20 presidency: to promote an equal and universal access to the Covid vaccine and to establish recovery strategies which ensure the protection of all peoples and the planet”.
Global health and strengthening healthcare systems will also be two central themes of the Global Health Summit, which Italy will organize in 2021 in partnership with the European Commission. (SB@OnuItalia)
