g7+ held a virtual meeting attended by senior officials including focal points and public health officials on 26 August 2020. Recognizing the unique challenges facing g7+ member countries, participants shared lessons learned in the management of Covid-19 and called for the strengthening of the collective g7+ position to effectively advocate and elevate the g7+ perspective, reflected in the joint statement A call for concerted support in our efforts to curb COVID-19, issued in April 2020.
H.E. Wilhelmina Jallah, the Liberian Minister of Health, provided an update on Liberia’s COVID-19 response and encouraged all member countries to work in concerted partnership and solidarity to address the pandemic.
g7+ countries have demonstrated strong leadership in managing the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic, despite obstacles presented by fragile institutions and weakened economies. Cooperation between local leadership and citizens including civil society, and timely resources and financial assistance from the donor community, has strengthened the ability of g7+ countries to respond to the unique challenges presented by the pandemic.
Limited financial resources and testing shortages continue to increase transmission rates of Covid-19 and highlight the importance of capacity building in g7+ countries. Participants called for the strengthening of public health institutions and emphasized the necessity of regional and global cooperation to curb COVID-19. Members cautioned that merely closing borders and enacting lockdowns without regional and global solidarity and cooperation will exacerbate economic and social hardships. Most critically, increased poverty resulting from economies weakened by COVID-19, will threaten peace in countries facing fragility and will further undermine regional and global stability. Therefore, “no one is safe until everyone is safe” remained a common sentiment expressed by participants throughout the virtual meeting.
In the spirit of solidarity, representatives from member countries committed to the enhancement of peer learning and endorsed the plan to hold a virtual Ministerial Meeting with g7+ Ministers of Foreign Affairs during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020.
Helder da Costa, the General Secretary of g7+, concluded the meeting by informing participants that the Secretariat will hold frequent virtual meetings as a platform for engagement and the sharing of lessons learned. END.
For further information:
Helche Silvester
Media and Communication Officer
The g7+ Secretariat, Dili, Timor-Leste
+670 78477323