G-20 health, finance chiefs to find ways to address future pandemics

June 23

 

HEALTH and finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies are set to gather Tuesday to work out ways to deal with future pandemics, preventing them from becoming an economic, social and political crisis.

 

On Monday, at least 17 of 20 health ministers of the group agreed in principle to harmonize global health protocol standards that will make the mobility of global travellers easier, according to a source close to the meeting held in Yogyakarta, an ancient city in central Java. Only three countries — Argentina, Brazil and China — have not expressed their decision, the source said. “We realize, as economists, that when a health crisis happens...no people move. When no people move, no goods move. When goods cannot move, the economy doesn’t move,” Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said.

 

“Then...the health crisis becomes an economic crisis, economic crisis becomes a social crisis and a social crisis becomes a political crisis,” he added.

 

QR codes containing vaccine certificates

A common global framework to read QR codes containing vaccine certificates and other information is now being developed, and it is expected to be launched after G-20 leaders adopt it during their summit in November, health officials said.

 

Initially, the system will be able to read certificates from G-20 member countries, but in the future, it will be made open to all countries in the world.

 

The health ministers have also agreed to form a financial intermediary fund and will discuss it in detail with the finance ministers Tuesday. SOURCE: KYODO