President Erdoğan: “Humanity needs political leadership and determination in terms of health policies. The G20 has a key role in this regard.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the "Health" session held as part of the G20 Leaders' Summit on the island of Bali, Indonesia.
Noting that the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the institutional, financial, and legal shortcomings of the global health system, President Erdoğan stated that, for this reason, he deemed it appropriate for Indonesia to establish the "global health architecture" as one of its G20 Presidency priorities.
Citing that Türkiye has put global health on the agenda during its MIKTA Chairmanship, President Erdoğan said that the World Health Organisation's central position must be strengthened to enhance the global health system.
President Erdoğan, expressing support for the reform process undertaken for this cause, stated, "We need to establish a comprehensive perspective against the future pandemics we may face."
President Erdoğan emphasised his belief that the "G20 Joint Finance and Health Task Force," whose foundations were set last year, will play a crucial role at this juncture, noting:
“It is evident that we need to make progress in our attempts to secure the necessary funds to combat pandemics. A second crucial takeaway from the pandemic period is that the world lacks sufficient countermeasures, such as diagnosis, treatment, and immunisations. Only 11% of the population and 37% of health staff are vaccinated in low-income countries. We are unable to comprehend this unfair image. Türkiye has actively contributed to global efforts with a human-centred approach during the pandemic. We have attached special importance to the needs of disadvantaged groups. The five million refugees we hosted in our country have continued to have unhindered access to healthcare services. It is now clearer why our proposal, which I put on the agenda last year, to establish a working group on migration, is so important."
"Türkiye has provided world-class healthcare services"
Recalling that, as part of the effort to fight the pandemic, they offered assistance to 12 international organisations and 161 countries and supplied more than 6.3 million vaccine doses to 19 countries, President Erdoğan emphasised that Türkiye went above and beyond addressing its own needs with the TURKOVAC vaccine.
Stating that Türkiye, thanks to its established and modern healthcare infrastructure, offers world-class healthcare services to those who seek healing in Türkiye, along with its citizens, President Erdoğan said:
"It has also become clear during this process that solid and permanent structures are required to strengthen global supply chains. It is imperative to act quickly to boost production capacity. More opportunities should be taken advantage of by the countries that currently have the capacity to close this gap. The research and development cooperation process initiated by the G20 Presidency of Indonesia and supported by Türkiye and six other members will undoubtedly be beneficial. In short, humanity needs political leadership and determination in terms of health policies. The G20 has a key role in this regard."