End COVID For All welcomes the announcement of a timeframe on the delivery of vaccines to ASEAN nations as well as a $124 million contribution to the region, including for post-COVID-19 recovery.
This announcement comes as many ASEAN nations struggle to overcome the Delta variant amid low vaccination rates.
End COVID For All Spokesman and Australian Council For International Development (ACFID) Acting Director of Policy and Advocacy, Tim Watkin, said:
“There are two sides of the COVID story in our region, those armed against this virus and those who aren’t. Australia might be heading towards normality but there are still hundreds of millions of people across the Indo-Pacific totally unprotected.
“In the Philippines, fewer than 20 per cent of the population are fully vaccinated and less than a quarter in Indonesia. Over 75 million people in developing countries in Asia have been pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic.”
In this evening’s announcement, the Prime Minister specified that 10 million of the previously announced 40 million doses for the region will be delivered to ASEAN nations by mid-2022 from Australia’s domestic supply. He also announced $124m for new projects to address “complex and emerging challenges”.
Tim Watkin continued:
“This is a step in the right direction but we have a long way to go to fill the vaccine gaps. We need to strengthen regional health security by becoming a vaccine factory for the region and harnessing mRNA technology.
“With the G20 meeting this weekend, there are simple steps we can take to commit our fair share, including contributing vaccine doses as well as $250 million to the international vaccine sharing facility, COVAX, and a further $50 million to address vaccine hesitancy.
“We await further detail on the new projects announced by the Prime Minister but deeper cooperation with ASEAN nations is welcome.
“Given the continuing and extensive economic and health impacts of COVID-19 and the importance of the region’s recovery to Australia, we are looking to MYEFO
