New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) International support is essential to safeguard the health and well-being of refugees during the challenging times arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jordan's King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein said on Thursday.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda Summit, he said, "As host of the second-highest number of refugees per capita globally, Jordan continues to protect refugees in its pandemic response, and we are among the first countries in the world to start vaccinating refugees for free."

"But international support is essential. We must collectively work to develop new policy tools to help us address the problems of today and tomorrow," he added.

King Abdullah urged countries to communicate better and share resources to tackle the biggest problems facing the world today.

"The pandemic continues to ravage our world, and we have barely scratched the surface of its long-term humanitarian and economic implications," he said.

While there is a glimmer of hope in the form of vaccines, we have a moral duty to treat the vaccine as a global public good and ensure that low-income and poor countries are not left behind, he added.

Jordan's King further said the COVID-19 pandemic has been a harsh reminder that what humans do to nature has dangerous consequences.

"We must not ignore the greater pandemic of climate change. The global recovery must be rooted in green development and infrastructure projects -- to overcome water scarcity and food insecurity," he said.

King Abdullah further said COVID-19 does not respect borders or rich or poor.

"We need to move away from politics to practicality, communicate with each other and talk to each other in dignity, to start the new phase of what the world should look like after COVID-19," he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)