Event Summary
MSC hosts virtual Roundtable on Health Security
The Munich Security Conference brought together key decision-makers and experts for a virtual discussion on Covid-19 and global health cooperation.
On March 25, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) hosted a virtual roundtable on global health cooperation titled “A Fair Share: Leveling up Vaccine Cooperation”. Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the MSC, opened the event and located it in the current Road to Munich campaign. John Nkengasong, Special Envoy on Covid-19 Preparedness and Response of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa, then gave an input statement. This was followed by a discussion among senior decision-makers and experts from government, business, international organizations, NGOs, and the think tank community, in which participants took stock of current efforts for global vaccine cooperation and examined how to resolve existing roadblocks, with a particular focus on the role of the transatlantic partners.
When faced with a virus that has spread across the whole world within one year, killing 2.7 million people, you recognize that looking inward will not solve the problem. We have to try to do the things we agreed upon at the beginning of the pandemic, including providing equitable access to vaccines.John Nkengasong•Special Envoy on Covid-19 Preparedness and Response of the WHO and Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
One year after the Covid-19 crisis was declared a pandemic, vaccines have started to be rolled out in many countries. However, fair and equitable access remains an uphill battle. During the discussion, participants pointed out that since the beginning of the pandemic many statements had been made referring to the need for global solidarity. A country’s financial abilities should not decide whether it can protect its citizens against Covid-19 and vaccinations be treated as global public goods. Yet actions often did not match this ambition, as access to vaccines is severely restricted both in terms of quantity and geography.
Simultaneous distribution of vaccines through multilateral mechanisms
Participants stressed that governments are inherently responsible for the protection of their own citizens. Often it is difficult for politicians to communicate to their populations the necessity of sharing vaccine doses globally before their own citizens are fully vaccinated. At the same time, the discussion showed that domestic and global needs must be balanced. Especially when taking into account the dangers of mutations, simultaneous instead of sequential vaccine distribution efforts as well as speeding up vaccine development and production, are crucial to managing the current and future pandemics.
Participants highlighted that the framework of the ACT-Accelerator constitutes the main multilateral mechanism to make the pledged ambition of global solidarity a reality. It encompasses the COVAX facility – co-led by Gavi, CEPI, and WHO – which has already shipped over 32 million Covid-19 vaccines to 60 countries. The discussants agreed that this impressive governance structure is paving the way in the right direction. However, it still faces a significant gap in funding and vaccine doses for the program remain scarce.
While making doses available through bilateral agreements was mentioned as another tool to increase vaccination rates, it was argued that offering vaccines bilaterally was “only the second-best option”, as one participant put it. The most promising option for equitable distribution remains further strengthening of COVAX and jointly planning ahead, including regarding the use of excess doses from G7 and other countries. Furthermore, one participant stressed that vaccine diplomacy should not be defined merely as a geopolitical tool but rather as the effort to secure sufficient vaccine doses for developing countries in a timely manner.
About Health Security
The MSC has acknowledged early on that local health issues have the potential to evolve into full-fledged international security crises. Aware of the need for international action, the MSC partnered with the World Health Organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, Johnson and Johnson, Merck and others, to promote the discussion and collaboration between health officials, NGO leaders, security strategists, the private sector, and decision-makers. Within its Human Security Series , the MSC has been organizing events and conferences on health-related challenges since 2016. Moreover, health security has become an integral part of the MSC's annual conference in Munich as well as its Core Group Meetings. Additionally, the MSC published a special edition of the Munich Security Report, entitled „Polypandemic“, on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on development and security.
About the "Road to Munich"
The virtual Roundtable on Health Security is part of the "Road to Munich". Stages on this road include virtual high-level events on key aspects of the transatlantic partnership as well as interactive workshops and tabletop exercises to prepare the ground for the 57th Munich Security Conference, which is currently planned for February 2022.
