Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth, our Director of Theological Education, is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU). During the last few months, members of the Board have been discussing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, the importance of new vaccines, and the need for vaccine equity.

On May 4th, IAMSCU was part of the Global Consultation on Vaccine Equity. The three-hour symposium brought together keynote speakers and global partners from Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. The aim was to hear global voices so that those present could map and understand the various contextual situations worldwide. Work was begun on the drafting of a programmatic statement to promote awareness about these issues. Those present undertook to promote local actions in various countries and regions.

Following the Consultation, a writing team worked on the Declaration on Global Vaccine Equity. The full version of it can be found here https://bit.ly/3f0MLgg.

Within Ireland, World Development and Relief are running the Pay it Forward Campaign  - please do  support it -https://methodistworlddevelopment.org/blog/payitforward

 As we continue to explore the issues of vaccine equity within our context you might be interested in reading the IAMSCU Global Call to Action which appears in the Declaration:

 “Understanding health care, vaccine equity, and abundant life to be fundamental human rights for human flourishing worldwide, we commit ourselves to the following actions:

·         To engage educational institutions, churches, and communities in educating people about the human right to health, the ethics of accessibility to healthcare, and the equity of vaccination processes in their local communities and around the world;

·         To acknowledge and respect contextual differences, including cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity as well as social and economic conditions as we chart constructive ways to contribute to vaccine equity;

·         To challenge governments, businesses, and media outlets to respond to the social needs of their communities and to take actions that will promote wellbeing, address economic stress, and generate social improvement of all people, especially in impoverished and vulnerable communities;

·         To call upon governments, pharmaceutical companies, institutions, and citizens of the world’s major economies to share knowledge, release patents, facilitate production processes, distribute vaccines, and work cooperatively with other nations on creative solutions to logistical, political, administrative, and diplomatic obstacles to global vaccine equity;

·         To urge political, economic, religious and philanthropic leaders to take immediate actions concerning donations, resource-sharing, information exchange, and other initiatives necessary to overcome this global health crisis;

·         To combat disinformation by educating people about COVID-19 and its variants, promoting global vaccine equity, and working in partnership with relevant institutions in these activities; and

·         To join with other organizations and people of good will in enhancing the common good by promoting these actions for the sake of human flourishing.”