British Baptists are calling on the UK Government to take action to ensure developing countries are not left behind in the global rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Over 275 million doses across 129 countries have been administered worldwide but the vast majority of these have been in developed countries.
BMS World Mission, the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Baptist Union of Wales and the Baptist Union of Scotland have launched a petition asking the UK Government to take steps to ensure equitable access to the vaccine worldwide.
These include "strong international co-operation" and global condemnation of "vaccine nationalism".
"Specifically, we call on the UK Government to support worldwide collective efforts to put an end to the pandemic and produce vaccines for all on a fair and equitable basis," the petition reads.
Elsewhere, the petition calls for aid budgets to be enhanced in order to fight the pandemic, respond to the humanitarian impact and support recovery.
"As Christians in the UK, we stand in support of equitable global access to the Covid-19 vaccine," the petition says.
"No-one is safe from Covid-19 until the vaccine is accessible everywhere."
The petition concludes with a commitment to enabling Christian leaders to "dispel unhelpful vaccine myths" and mobilise people in getting vaccinated.
"Together, we stand both in prayerful lament for all who have died and been negatively impacted, and in hopeful expectation that in the face of this global pandemic the UK will choose to pursue equity and justice, especially for the most vulnerable," it says.
The launch of the petition follows a statement co-ordinated by the Baptist World Alliance calling for "just access" to vaccines globally, and committing Baptists to "repudiating unhelpful narratives associated with mass vaccination".
