Mycountrycontinuestoendorsevaccineasaglobalpublicgood,thatneedstobeaccessibletoeveryone,includingdevelopingandloweconomiccountriesandcountriesinspecialsituation.Theinternationalcommunitymustaddressthevaccinationgapsatlowincomecountrieswhoonlyvaccinate1.1%oftheirpopulations.Withoutequalaccesstovaccines,manycountries,includingTimor-Lestewillnotbeabletoprotectitscitizensandpeoplefromthevirus.

Fairand equitable access to vaccines must be ensured for everyone, everywhere. People’s lives should come first.Vaccines must be declared as public goodsfor the benefitof people’s lives.

There is already much work being done. But we need to give these efforts a stronger push, througheducation, training, and, improving digital skills and literacy across the board; investing in infrastructure, for universal and affordable internet connectivity; and expanding access to data and digital public goods, including open-source software and digital utilities.

For this reason, the COVID-19 vaccine must be recognized as a good for all humanity, with universal and open access to allow for wider production and equitable distribution on a global scale

itisforthisreasonthatBotswanasharesthefrustrationbymanyandstronglysupportsthecallforthevaccinestobetreatedasaglobalpublicgood,asthisiskeytorecoveryandrebuildingbetterfromtheCOVID-19pandemic.

we will continue to work closely with partners on cyber security digital public good and to call irregular migration of persons