United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said only the discovery of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus can restore the world to normalcy.
The UN chief who held a live meeting with the 50 or so African countries that are members of the United Nation on Wednesday expressed hope that a vaccine be found before the end of the year.
He said, “A safe and effective vaccine may be the only tool that can return the world to a sense of ‘normalcy,’ saving millions of lives and countless trillions of dollars.”
He called for its accelerated development and accessibility to all, adding it must have a “universal global benefit” and “allow us to control the pandemic.”
“We need an ambitious effort to ensure that international stakeholders operate through a harmonized, integrated and leveraged approach to maximize the speed and scale needed for the universal deployment of such a vaccine by the end of 2020,” he insisted.
The UN chief praised the efforts of several African governments to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic.
