World Must Declare Vaccine Public Good, Bangladesh’s Hasina Says

(Bloomberg) -- Global leaders must declare Covid-19 vaccines as a public good, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at the Qatar Economic Forum, as the South Asian nation struggles to curb a fresh surge in infections.

“We need strong global cooperation to overcome this difficult time,” Hasina said in recorded remarks telecast Tuesday. “We firmly believe that the Covid-19 vaccines should be declared as a global public good, and the developing countries and LDCs that have capacity be given the necessary support to produce the vaccines.”

Inoculations have slowed to a crawl after neighboring India halted exports, forcing Bangladesh to enforce new lockdowns and turn to China and Russia for supplies. Only about 8.6% of its eligible population -- comprising people aged 40 years or more -- is fully vaccinated.

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Bangladesh on Tuesday locked down seven central districts surrounding the capital Dhaka to restrict public transport and human mobility. It reported 4,636 coronavirus cases on Monday, the most in a day since mid-April, raising the caseload to 851,668. The reported death toll is 13,626.

Hasina said her administration has announced stimulus steps of about $15 billion, which will help the economy grow 6.1% in the year through June 30, one of the fastest paces in the world.

“We have been trying to make a balance between lives and livelihoods,” she said. “Covid-19 is a litmus test for global solidarity.”

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