The head of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has called for an additional $8 billion to ensure that 40% of the world is vaccinated by the end of the year.
Speaking at the launch of a World Health Organization plan that sets out how to vaccinate 70% of the global population by the middle of next year, UN Secretary general Antonio Guterres said if the virus is allowed to spread "like wildfire" in the world's poorest nations new variants will emerge.
"And all the vaccination effort made in developed countries will fall apart, and these people will not be protected," The Telegraph cited him as saying.
He added: "With vaccine production now at nearly 1.5 million doses per month, we can reach 40% of people in all countries by year's end if we can mobilise some $8 billion to ensure that distribution is equitable."
Guterres added that inequitable distribution of vaccine was not only a "question of being immoral, but also a question of being stupid".
So far, more than 6.3 billion doses of vaccine have been administered globally but 75% of these doses have been given to people in high income countries - which make up half the world’s population.
