(MINT)
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday pressed for an expeditious and equitable distribution of covid-19 vaccines to support the global economic recovery besides increasing multilateral funding to prepare for future pandemics. Addressing meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors virtually, Sitharaman said there is a need to evolve methodologies to plug funding gaps between multilateral institutions as low- and middle-income countries do not have sufficient resources to face these challenges on their own.
She emphasized on addressing structural bottlenecks to temper the pandemic’s scarring effects and build resilience. Sitharaman suggested that the economic recovery measures are built with a long-term vision. She pressed on the need for creating a fund so that a future pandemic wouldn’t make it worse for the middle- or low-income nations. “That mission actually supported the extended health service which had to be given for people during the pandemic… also…expanding on the basic infrastructure in far flung areas. This pandemic actually has helped us to bridge the gap between the resources and also the requirements one the ground,” said Sitharaman.
