Panama proposes a global initiative to solve the high cost of medicines. The proposal was raised by the Vice President of the Republic, José Gabriel Carrizo, in his speech before the UN General Assembly. He also called for an international body to hold accountable those who cause damage to the planet.
Panama, September 22, 2022. Panama proposed to the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) to carry out a global initiative to solve the high cost of medicines worldwide and to establish an international organization that demands responsibility of those who cause damage to the planet and the environment.
Both proposals were presented by the Vice President of the Republic and Minister of the Presidency José Gabriel Carrizo Jaén, during his intervention on behalf of Panama, at the seventy-seventh regular session of the UN, which was held in New York.
Carrizo Jaén explained that the pharmaceutical industry, from production, supply and distribution, must be an ally of health, because an accessible medicine is the difference between life and death.
El Presidente @NitoCortizo ha decidido enfrentar la problemática de las medicinas. Con ese propósito me instruyó conformar y coordinar la Comisión Nacional de Medicamentos, con el fin de lograr el abastecimiento de las medicinas con precios mucho menores que los actuales. #UNGA pic.twitter.com/cFf5yrNhLO
— José Gabriel Carrizo (@gabycarrizoj) September 22, 2022
“We see with concern that millions of people cannot access medicines. The situation has become a mercantile and petty act, the oligopolies obtain disproportionate profits from the medicines they distribute and sell to states and individuals,” said the Vice President of the Republic in his speech before the United Nations.
He stated that the current medicine distribution system “shames humanity, access to medicines must be valued as a human right and not as an expensive and luxury commodity.”
“Panama proposes before this General Assembly, the adoption of a global initiative that resolves the excessive price and lack of access to medicines for the citizens of the world,” said the Vice President of the Republic José Gabriel Carrizo Jaén.
Also, Carrizo Jaén criticized the damage caused to natural resources and the environment caused by gas emissions, deforestation and pollution of the oceans.
“How can we win the trust of the new generations, while the planet where we live is being decimated, before your eyes, and where will our descendants have to live? How many more lives must be lost? How many more natural disasters must occur? When are we going to stop the ecocide?” questioned Carrizo Jaén.
In this sense, the Vice President of Panama made a concrete proposal: “The time has come for the world to have an international body that demands responsibility from all those who cause damage to the planet.”
According to Carrizo Jaén, the development model must be transformed into seeking healthy and sustainable ecosystems. He mentioned that Panama is one of the three countries in the world declared carbon negative: “35% of our national territory and 30.5% of our seas are declared as protected natural areas. In addition, we are the eighth country in the world in clean energy generation.”
He added that Panamanians have a vocation for the protection of natural resources, due to the value of Panama’s geographical position and the role that the Panama Canal plays in the world economy.
During his speech, Vice President Carrizo Jaén also spoke about topics such as Panama’s strategy to face the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the national strategic plan to fight inequality and poverty, the dialogue policy promoted to overcome the recent social crisis without victims and the migration of foreigners.
Carrizo Jaén was appointed by the President of the Republic Laurentino Cortizo Cohen to represent Panama in the UN General Assembly and traveled on a commercial flight covering his transportation and accommodation expenses, accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Erika Mouynes.
Within the framework of the General Assembly, important parallel events are held, such as Climate Week in New York, panels of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the World Biodiversity Summit (WBS), and meetings with groups of philanthropists and analysis forums.
Soledad Quartucci | Latina Republic
Dr. Soledad Quartucci is the founder and CEO of Latina Republic, a 501(C)3 California-based nonprofit organization. Latina Republic is committed to improving the diversity and professional development of storytellers in the media industry as representation matters and affects the stories we tell. Latina Republic makes space for and empowers unheard voices and trains the next generation of leaders in the U.S.
