One of the key outcomes from the two-day meeting of the health ministers of the Group of 20 (G-20) in Rome, which ended over the weekend, was a message of cooperation and solidarity in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Albeit belated, the so-called Rome Pact was a welcome signal of a greater willingness to ensure more equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to poorer countries with a view to achieving a global vaccination rate of 40 per cent by the end of this year. But the means of reaching this ambitious goal were left largely unaddressed.