C 81/20
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.2.2022
Wednesday 23 June 2021
limited access to essential services including WASH, and education, healthcare and care services, thereby putting at great risk the development, future and health of these children;
19.
Highlights the fact that the consequences of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are disproportionately affecting the poorest and people in the most disadvantaged, marginalised and unprotected social categories, including persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, persons with chronic medical conditions, persons with mental health problems and elderly persons, who already have limited or no access to basic hygiene and treatment for their healthcare needs, and have become even more vulnerable due to the pandemic;
Refugees and displaced persons
20.
Urges the Commission to address the specific needs of refugees, migrants and internally displaced persons (IDPs), upholding the guiding principle of public health networks of leaving no-one behind and refraining from blocking front-line humanitarian workers from having direct contact with those they serve; recalls with concern that refugees, migrants and IDPs are among the most vulnerable populations facing this health crisis, as they are often faced with more precarious living conditions and tend to face greater obstacles to accessing basic health services than local populations; stresses the absolute need for equal access to COVID-19 treatments and other health services and safety net programmes for all affected people, regardless of nationality, legal status, origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other characteristic; stresses the importance of supporting refugees and IDPs to address the disproportionate socio-economic impact of the pandemic, by strengthening livelihood support and income-generating activities, in addition to their access to safety; emphasises that EU policies should seek to support their access to employment, education and civic documentation; urges the EU and the Member States to create the conditions for children and young people in refugee camps to have access to education, including remote learning options, in particular for basic learning;
Strengthening the health sector
21.
Underlines that the COVID-19 outbreak has exacerbated the persistent problem of medicine shortages globally, with acute consequences in developing countries; underlines that development aid should primarily be dedicated to delivering ‘horizontal’ universal health care system coverage through a holistic and rights-based approach, which entails, inter alia, fully addressing the multidimensional nature of health (with close links to gender, food security and nutrition, water and sanitation, education and poverty); calls, in particular, for the revision of proposed or existing strategies and partnerships with the aim of further strengthening and supporting public health systems in partner countries, in particular as regards preparedness for pandemics and the organisation and management of health systems, including the provision of universal healthcare, vaccinations, health monitoring and information (including disease surveillance), training, recruitment and retention of medical staff, diagnostic capacity and medicine supply;
22.
Recalls that the strengthening of health systems should not exclusively take into account the epidemiological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on partner countries, but should also consider factors such as the need to manage increased malnutrition caused by the disruption of food supply chains or the psychological impacts of measures to mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks;
23.
Reminds the Commission that the EU’s well-established partner organisations, such as the Global Fund, provide valuable help in rapidly procuring and deploying personal protective equipment, diagnostics and therapeutics for COVID-19 while playing a vital role in building up and reinforcing health systems and providing donors;
24.
Stresses the need to catch up on routine immunisation programmes as soon as possible and to ensure that the provision of other basic health services is resumed; calls for adequate funding for initiatives such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and CEPI, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations; is concerned about the outsourced, fragmented global vaccine governance system, which has led to competition for vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, rather than cooperation; urges the EU and Member States to lead calls for equal and affordable vaccine access worldwide based on the principle of global solidarity; calls on the Commission to ensure that the EU global response to the COVID-19 pandemic does not undermine EU funding for other vital health programmes, including the Minimum Initial Services Package for