STATEMENT BY
MR. MOHD HAFIZ OTHMAN
MINISTER COUNSELLOR
PERMANENT MISSION OF MALAYSIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
AT THE PLENARY MEETING
ON GLOBAL HEALTH AND FOREIGN POLICY [ITEM 129]
NEW YORK, 29 MARCH 2022
Mr. President,
Malaysia associates itself with the statement delivered by Thailand on behalf of ASEAN. We are also pleased to co-sponsor the draft resolution on this item today.
Mr. President,
2. The Secretary-General in 2020 said, and I quote, “The pandemic is a clear test of international cooperation — a test we have essentially failed”. His words are still relevant today. To date, more than 6 million people have perished due to this pandemic. Despite the scale and character of the pandemic that knows no borders, the world today still witnesses the lack of global preparedness, solidarity, and cooperation. The divide between the global north and south, including on matters concerning access to vaccines, still prevails. What is more disappointing is that suspicion and acrimony among some countries continue to foil the much-needed trust and cooperation even in the face of shared challenges.
Mr. President,
3. It is Malaysia’s firm belief that global recovery can only be materialised until the pandemic is controlled globally. In this connection, greater engagement among countries and non-state actors on health issues should be prominently applied in foreign policy decision-making, including in the multilateral fora such as the United Nations. This must be our goal and it is for a simple reason – global health issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic have a widespread and severe impact on our work in advancing all three pillars of the UN – which I will briefly elaborate in three points:
First on the pillar of Peace and Security
4. Countries that lack robust and reliable health systems, particularly fragile and conflict-affected countries, often struggle to build or sustain peace. The lack or absence of trust in the institutions providing basic health services to the people may potentially lead to and prolong conflicts, respectively. Subsequently, humanitarian crisis would occur which may threaten national, regional and global peace and security.
Second on the pillar of Development
5. The pandemic has unleashed an unprecedented crisis, reversing progress on meeting all 17 SDGs, with the world’s poorest and most vulnerable affected the most. It also continues to highlight inequalities between and within countries. In a larger context, the global health crisis continues to impact trade, foreign direct investment, and economic growth.
6. The only path to an inclusive recovery is by vaccinating the world. As long as the virus is not equally be dealt with, trade flows and global supply chains will continue to be severely disrupted, costing the global economy trillion of dollars and hindering countries’ progress towards achieving the Agenda 2030 and SDGs.
Third on the pillar of Human Rights
7. Human rights are unquestionably critical in responding and recovering from the pandemic. Health is a fundamental human right that is indispensable for the exercise of other human rights.
8. There is no alternative but to work together to ensure availability, accessibility, and quality of healthcare as a human right to all without discrimination, including access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine nationalism must end as it only leaves the door open for the emergence of new variants. The emergence of Omicron has further exposed this harsh reality.
Mr. President,
9. A healthy population and planet are fundamental to prosperity, security, and stability. In December 2021, Malaysia launched its Framework for Malaysia’s Foreign Policy in a Post-pandemic World, which specifies three objectives in health diplomacy as follows - First, we aspire to become a responsible actor for global public health equity. Second, we seek to build international partnerships on public health, research and vaccine development, and pharmaceutical capabilities. And third, we commit to multilateral approaches to public health and global challenges.
10. We are doing our best to translate these commitments into actions. For instance, Malaysia is currently hosting a regional hub for the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) of the World Food Programme (WFP) that provides supply chain solutions to the international humanitarian community, including humanitarian relief cargo shipment to support COVID-19 global operations. In addition, Malaysia is hosting a World Health Organization (WHO) representative office with six collaborative and research centres operating in four government agencies and two public universities.
11. We are also proud to host the WHO Global Service Centre and joined the global COVID-19 vaccine development platform, COVAX Facility. In support of solidarity, humanity and multilateralism, we have contributed almost a million of vaccines to Bangladesh, Laos, Bosnia Herzegovina and Palestine. We remain committed in continuing to assist countries with low vaccination rates through the provision of COVID-19 vaccine contribution.
12. Malaysia also supports the call to solidify global solidarity in addressing the pandemic and for the vaccine to be considered a global public good. Beyond this, we need to also push for intellectual property waivers for life-saving vaccines and treatments during pandemics, and to increase the capacity of many more countries to manufacture vaccines and treatments.
Mr. President,
13. One of the biggest threats facing today's world is tiny and microscopic, but our collective action must be big and bold. Advancing foreign policy and global health interests must go hand in hand, as countries need to engage and act together to respond to the global health crisis and its devastating impact. Malaysia will continue to profess and promote these linkages and we call all Member States to do the same.
I thank you.