Nicholas Hill
Deputy U.S. Representative for ECOSOC
New York, New York
October 8, 2021
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to thank Ambassador Frazier for her steadfast leadership as Second Committee Chair and the Vice Chairs for their hard work and collaborative spirit.
In order for countries to begin to focus on economic recovery from the pandemic, we must further control the spread of COVID-19, which requires widespread vaccination.
The United States is leading the global response to the pandemic, and we will continue to press for rapid distribution of safe and effective vaccines globally. To date, the United States has provided $4 billion in contributions to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization in support of COVAX. The United States announced at the COVID-19 Summit on September 22 that we will purchase and donate an additional 500 million Pfizer vaccine doses for distribution by COVAX through 2022, bringing our total to over one billion doses donated to the world with no strings attached. The United States has also donated 160 million doses from our domestic stockpile and will donate more as they become available.
We must also work together to strengthen health systems’ resilience against health emergencies, with a particular focus on equitable access to prevention and treatment and protecting the most vulnerable and marginalized populations.
The United States is also emphasizing that it is equally critical to ensure other tools are accessible to countries, including personal protective equipment, testing, diagnostics, therapeutics, oxygen, and other essential medical products.
We look forward to continuing to spur collective action, including following up with global partners on the COVID-19 Summit targets.
As we look to the economic recovery from the pandemic, further measures are needed to prevent a dangerous and deeper divergence in the global economy.
Through the Paris Club-G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, we are deferring debt payments for the world’s least developed countries so they can direct available resources to combat
COVID-19. We also have supported the Common Framework on Debt Treatments to provide relief for DSSI-eligible countries needing assistance.
The United States International Development Finance Corporation is seeking to increase investments in developing economies by partnering with the private sector to catalyze investments in transformative sectors such as energy, health, infrastructure, and technology, while promoting environmental sustainability, transparency, and human rights.
Democracy, transparency, and accountability in governance are critical for creating a more prosperous and sustainable world. We must root out corruption that siphons government resources meant to help its people. This is why the United States looks forward to hosting the Summit for Democracy in December. Democracy can prevail against the challenges of our time and deliver for the needs of our people.
We also must collectively act to address climate change. The Biden Administration believes that climate change has a dire impact on our domestic and global food systems and food security. At the UN Food Security Summit during UNGA High-Level Week, President Biden announced the United States’ $10 billion commitment to accelerating progress toward ending hunger and malnutrition and building more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food systems.
President Biden has also wasted no time putting forward bold targets and policies to reduce emissions at home. He announced in April that the United States would double our public international climate finance by 2024, and triple the amount dedicated to adaptation. In his remarks to the General Assembly, President Bident announced that the United States intended to double those amounts again.
This will make the United States a leader in public climate finance. Together with increased private capital and contributions from other donors, we will be able to meet the goal of mobilizing $100 billion to support climate action in developing nations.
However, we must all bring our highest ambition to Glasgow for COP26 to ensure progress in globally addressing this existential crisis.
Madame Chair. The United Nations—and the Second Committee—will play a pivotal role in addressing these interconnected development challenges and achieving a sustainable and inclusive global recovery. Now more than ever, the Second Committee must rationalize and prioritize its work.
The United States remains committed to upholding the longstanding rules-based international order that has helped usher in the peace and prosperity essential to the development of nations around the world.
We are committed to working across the Second Committee to advance the 2030 Agenda. Our commitment includes a refreshed approach to addressing vulnerabilities in fragile and conflict-affected states.
As the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and works together to restore progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, we look forward to supporting the Bureau’s efforts to improve the efficiency of the Second Committee.
Madam Chair, colleagues, we look forward to working with you in the weeks ahead. Thank you.
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