COVID-19 Vaccine Global Common Good: Appeal from 100 Influential Global Leaders

• Miscellaneous
• 28th June 2020
• YC

Yunus Centre Press Release (28 June, 2020)

105 World Leaders including 18 Nobel Laureates, 32 former Chief of State and Governments, Political Leaders, Artistes, International NGOs and Institutions have signed a call initiated by Yunus Centre to declare COVID-19 Vaccines as a global common good.

The Appeal says:

A pandemic clearly exposes the strength and weaknesses of healthcare systems in every country and highlights the obstacles and inequities in gaining access to healthcare. The effectiveness of the upcoming vaccination campaign will depend on its universality.

We appeal to governments, foundations, philanthropists and social businesses to come forward to produce and/or distribute the vaccines all over the world for free. We invite all social, political, and health entities to re-affirm our collective responsibility for the protection of ALL vulnerable persons without any discrimination whatsoever.

We are pleading to all world leaders including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Director General of the World Health Organization, religious leaders, social and moral leaders, leaders of research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies and the media to join hands and ensure that in the case of a COVID-19 vaccine, we have a global consensus that it must be deployed as a global common good.

We invite everyone to join the pledge at VACCINECOMMONGOOD.ORG . 

I hope your esteemed institution will do its best to spread this message and join our pledge.

For more info, please contact: yunus@yunuscentre.org

LIST OF PERSONALITIES WHO SIGNED THE PLEDGE

NOBEL LAUREATES
 
1 Muhammad Yunus 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate
2 Máiread Maguire 1976 Nobel Peace Laureate  
3 Professor Adolfo Perez Esquivel 1980 Nobel Peace Laureate
4 Lech Wałęsa 1983 Nobel Peace Laureate, Former President of Poland
5 Archbishop Desmond Tutu 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate 
6 Mikhail Gorbachev 1990 Nobel Peace Laureate, President of the Soviet Union
7 Rigoberta Menchu 1992 Nobel Peace laureate
8 Edmond Henri Fischer 1992 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
9 Sir Richard J. Roberts 1993 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
10 José Ramos Horta 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate  
11 Jody Williams  1997 Nobel Peace Laureate 
12 Shirin Ebadi 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate
13 Elizabeth Blackburn 2009 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
14 Tawakkol Karman 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate
15 Leymah Gbowee 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate
16 Malala Yousafzai  2014 Nobel Peace Laureate 
17 Kailash Satyarthi 2014 Nobel Peace Laureate 
18 Nadia Murad Basee Taha 2018 Nobel Peace Laureate
   
FORMER PRESIDENTS

19 Emil  Constantinescu President of Romania 1996-2000
20 Ameenah  Gurib-Fakim President of Mauritius 2015-2018
21 Tarja Halonen President of Finland 2000-2012
22 Mladen Ivanic President of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2018
23 Gjorge Ivanov President of North Macedonia 2009-2019
24 Ivo  Josipovic President of Croatia 2010-2015
25 Aleksandr Kwasniewski President of Poland 1995-2005
26 Petru  Lucinschi President of Moldova 1997-2001
27 Luiz Inácio  Lula da Silva President of Brazil 2003-2011
28 Rexhep  Meidani President of Albania 1997-2002
29 Bujar  Nishani President of Albania 2012-2017
30 Rosen  Plevneliev President of Bulgaria 2012-2017
    31 Romano  Prodi President of EU Commission 1999-2004 
and Italian Prime Minister of Italy 1996-1998, 2006-2008
32 Vicente Fox Quesada President of Mexico 2000-2006
33 Mary  Robinson President of Ireland, 1990-97
34 Rosalia Arteaga  Serrano President of Ecuador 1997
35 Petar  Stoyanov President of Bulgaria 1997-2002
36 Vaira  Vike-Freiberga President of Latvia 1999-2007
37 Filip Vujanovic President of Montenegro 2003-2018
   
FORMER PRIME MINISTERS
 
38 Shaukat  Aziz Prime Minister of Pakistan 2004-2007
39 Marek  Belka Prime Minister of Poland 2004-2005
40 Sali  Berisha Prime Minister of Albania 2005-2013, President 1992-97
41 Gordon  Brown Prime Minister of UK 2007-2010
42 Helen  Clark Prime Minister of New Zealand 1999-2008
43 Mirko  Cvetkovic Prime Minister of Serbia 2008-2012
44 Jan  Fisher Prime Minister of the Czech Republic 2009-2010
45 Chiril  Gaburici Prime Minister of Moldova 2015
46 Jadranka  Kosor Prime Minister of Croatia 2009-2011
47 Yves  Leterme Prime Minister of Belgium 2008, 2009-2011
48 Peter  Medgyessy Prime Minister of Hungary 2002-2004
49 Mahathir Mohamad Prime Minister of Malaysia 1981-2003, 2018-2020
50 Djoomart  Otorbaev Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan 2014-2015
51 Oscar  Ribas Reig Prime Minister of Andorra 1982-84; 1990-94
52 Eka  Tkeshelashvili Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia 2010-2012
   
ARTISTES & SOCIAL ACTIVISTS
 
53 Shabana  Azmi Actor and Human Rights Activist
54 Andrea  Bocelli Tenor, Singer-Songwriter  
55 Bono  Singer, Activist
56 Lily Cole Actress, Activist
57 George  Clooney Actor, Human Rights Activist
58 Richard  Curtis UN SDG Advocate, Founder, Project Everyone
59 Matt Damon Filmmaker & Co-founder Water.org & WaterEquity
60 Sharon  Stone Actress, Human Rights Activist    
61 Jimmy Wales Founder, Wikipedia
62 Forest  Whitaker Actor, Founder, Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative
   
BUSINESS LEADERS
 
63 Sir Richard Branson Founder, Virgin Group
64 Emmanuel Faber Chief Executive Officer, Danone
65 Mo  Ibrahim Philanthropist, Founder of Mo Ibrahim Foundation
66 Paul  Polman Co-founder & Chair, IMAGINE, Former CEO, Unilever
67 Azim Premji Chairman, Wipro Limited
68 Narayana  Murthy Co-Founder, Infosys 
69 Ratan  Tata Former Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Group
   
POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS, LEADERS OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, ACTIVISTS & ACADEMICS

70 Father Giulio  Albanese Journalist and Writer
71 Abdulaziz  Altwaijri Former Director General, ISESCO
72 Jean  Baderschneider Chair of the Board of Directors, Global Fund to End Modern Slavery
73 Thomas Bach President, International Olympic Committee (IOC)
74 Luigino  Bruni Professor, Economics, Libera Università Maria Ss. Assunta (LUMSA)
75 Margaret Chan President, Boao Global Health Forum
76 James Chau International Broadcaster and Host of The China Current
77 Susan M.  Elliott President and CEO, National Committee on American Foreign Policy
78 HRH Prince Turki bin Faisal Chairman, King Faisal Foundation's Center for Research and Islamic Studies
79 Father Enzo Fortunato Spokesperson of the Sacred Convent and Papal Basilica of Assisi
80 Father Mauro Gambetti Custodian of the Papal Basilica and Sacred Convent of Assisi
81 Ron  Garan Former Astronaut
82 Nathalie de  Gaulle Co-Founder & President NB-INOV
83 Ann Hidalgo Mayor of Paris
84 Ekmeleddin  İhsanoğlu Former Secretary General, OIC
85 Garry  Jacobs CEO, President World Academy of Art and Sciences
86 Adeeba Kamarulzaman President-elect, International AIDS Society
87 Mats  Karlsson Vice President of the World Bank 1999-2002
88 Kerry  Kennedy President, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
89 Vanessa Kerry Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Founder, Seed Global Health
90 Salman Khan Founder, Khan Academy
91 Guilherme  Leal Co-Founder, Natura Cosmeticos, B Team Leader
92 Sharon Lewin Director, The Peter Doherty Institute of Infection & Immunity, University of Melbourne
93 Justin Yifu  Lin Former Vice President of the World Bank
94 Raffaele  Lomonaco Professor of Economics of the Pontifical Lateran University
95 Marina Mahathir Writer, Human Rights Activist
96 Alaa    Murabit UN SDG Advocate, The Voice of Libyan Women 
97 Rovshan  Muradov Secretary General, Nizami Ganjavi International Center
98 Edward  Ndopu UN SDG Advocate, Founder, Beyond Zero
99 Samia  Nkrumah President of Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre
100 Elsa  Papademetriou Former Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament
101 Jeffrey  Sachs UN SDG Advocate, Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University   
102 Ismail  Serageldin Co-Chair Nizami Ganjavi International Center
103 Marianna V.  Vardinoyannis Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO
104 Gary White CEO & Co-founder, Water.org & WaterEquity
105 Nicola  Zingaretti Chairman & Leader of the Italian Democratic Party