At the working session on G20 Health, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke on global health challenges, speaking of the anti Covid-19 vaccines thanks also to which, as she herself stated: “Life has gradually returned to normal”but also added that “The pandemic has shown the great fragility of our societies in the face of unexpected health crises. A dangerous situation that we have a duty to face in a structural way, without ever giving in to the easy temptation to sacrifice the freedom of our citizens in the name of protecting their health“.
The end of the pandemic is near
The prime minister then insisted that freedom and health go hand in hand “because certainly, if you don’t have health, freedom is useless. But on the other hand, what is health without freedom? “. Meloni then specified that at this moment the Covid-19 is declining in many countries, including Italy, and that this was made possible thanks to the extraordinary work of health personnel, vaccines, prevention and citizen empowerment. The Prime Minister also recalled that according to WHO, the World Health Organization, “The end of the Covid-19 pandemic is in sight, but pandemics are not over. On the contrary, experts warn us that they could happen more often. Climate change, environmental destruction, pollution and frequent travel contribute the spread of disease”. Meloni added that “Due to the pandemic, we may have overlooked other emergencies over the past two years. We have to fix it”.
A contribution of 185 million
Our country has decided on a new contribution of 185 million euros to the global fund to defeat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The possibility of a further increase is also being considered. With this new contribution, Italy will have donated more than one and a half billion dollars to the Global Fund. Our country is among the top ten donors and will continue to contribute to the fight against these three global scourges. “The Italian Presidency of the G20 focused last year on the holistic One Health approach. It covers all aspects ofhealth care, in the broadest possible sense, and it is the only sustainable solution in the long term. It will also make us better prepared for possible health crises in the coming years. We cannot afford to be caught off guard again. But pandemic preparedness, prevention and response require resources, reliable funding and an increased ability to mobilize funds.”specified Giorgia Meloni.
For this reason, the Joint Finance-Health Task Force was created, co-chaired by Italy and Indonesia, which launched a specific financial fund which will become operational by the end of the year. There are fifteen donor countries and three ‘charities’ have already pledged to donate 1.4 billion dollars. Italy appears to be the third donor, after the United States and the European Commission.