Topic: 2025 – Vaccine Access and Distribution
Country: Argentina
Delegate Name: Grace Hamel
Country: Argentina
Delegate: Grace Hamel
School: Williamston High School
Committee: WHO (ECOSOC)
Topic: Vaccine Access and Distribution
In the past fifty years, at least 154 million lives have been saved by the global immunization efforts. Nonetheless, vaccine access and distribution continues to be a major issue to this day. Immunization is the foundation of the primary healthcare system and as of right now vaccinations have been developed to prevent more than twenty life-threatening diseases. After the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2019, the world was reminded of the power of vaccines to fight disease and their necessity in today’s society. During the pandemic itself, the world’ population experienced a lack of access to COVID-19 vaccines which showcased the issue of vaccine inequity and hesitancy. As immunization continues to be advanced, it is prominent that we focus on these issues to make improvements in the overall vaccine access and distribution.
Argentina has put importance on the issue of vaccine access and distribution as it has recently faced significant issues with vaccine hesitancy and has seen a decline in routine immunization. Since the year 2015, Argentina has seen a steady decline in routine childhood immunization although the causes behind it remain unclear. This is a significant issue as routine childhood vaccinations are one of the most effective methods in preventing infectious diseases in children. Recently, with the outbreak of COVID-19, Argentina faced limited global vaccine supplies, meaning that, for a period of time, its population faced limited coverage. Though the supply issue was addressed, it left much of their population vulnerable and had major impacts. Lack of access to immunization and vaccine hesitancy remain prominent issues for Argentina today and must be acknowledged.
Argentina suggests targeting these issues by first targeting vaccine mistrust, also known as hesitancy, by first acknowledging that many people become opposed to vaccination simply because of the distance or lack of time to go to health facilities. Oftentimes, these concerns are met with misinformation. This creates hesitancy around the concept of immunization as a whole. Argentina believes that the first step in targeting this problem is first increasing public confidence in vaccines so as to increase the willingness to attend vaccination programs. Additionally, Argentina stands that providing underprivileged countries with vaccine access should be prioritized. Argentina would seek to partner with Spain on this issue and would push to “liberalize” vaccine access and distribution. Additionally, Argentina would like to ally with the countries of the United States, Brazil, and Chile.
Works Cited
Durán, Guillermo, et al. “Impact of the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in Argentina during 2021: An observational quantification of the death probability for confirmed cases in Buenos Aires province.” National Library of Medicine, 2024, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10923657/. Accessed 19 November 2025.
“Framework for Action IA2030.” Immunization Agenda 2030, https://www.immunizationagenda2030.org/framework-for-action. Accessed 19 November 2025.
“Immunization Agenda 2030: A Global Strategy to Leave No One Behind.” World Health Organization (WHO), 7 January 2021, https://www.who.int/teams/immunization-vaccines-and-biologicals/strategies/ia2030. Accessed 19 November 2025.
Melchinger, Hannah, et al. “Determinants of undervaccination of routine childhood immunization in Argentina: A cross-sectional study.” ScienceDirect, 2024, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264410X24009174. Accessed 19 November 2025.
Moscovich, Lorena. “Vaccines and COVID-19. The complex relation between misinformation, mistrust and access.” United Nations Development Programme, 2020, https://www.undp.org/es/argentina/blog/vaccines-and-covid-19-complex-relation-between-misinformation-mistrust-and-access. Accessed 19 November 2025.
