UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has confirmed that he will take a COVID-19 vaccine publicly when it becomes available to him.

When asked at a press conference here on Wednesday whether he will take a vaccine and if he would do it publicly, Guterres said: "I, of course, intend to receive the vaccine when it becomes available for me in whatever situation that will be justified for that. And obviously, I would have no doubt in doing it publicly."

He encouraged everybody to be vaccinated, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I encourage everybody, as access to the vaccine (becomes available), to be vaccinated, because it is a service not only that we provide to ourselves.

"Each one of us being vaccinated provides a service to the whole community because we are no longer spreading, there is no risk of spreading the disease," the UN chief told reporters.

"So vaccination is for me a moral obligation in relation to all of us."

Guterres reiterated his call for a COVID-19 vaccine to be a global public good available to everyone, everywhere, and particularly, available in Africa.

He also repeated his appeal for a bold and coordinated international approach on debt relief efforts for African countries, including debt cancellation, where appropriate, as well as the meaningful increase in the financial support to African countries to provide the necessary liquidity and to finance the recovery.

Most African countries lack the financing to adequately respond to the COVID-19 crisis, due in part to declining demand and prices of their commodity exports, the UN chief added.

(IANS)