LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following a World Trade Organization meeting where member states failed to reach an agreement on waiving the enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) calls on wealthy nations to put public interest and people everywhere ahead of profits by agreeing to forego enforcing IP protection on any medicines or vaccines related to COVID-19.
In a move that has been sharply rebuked at the WTO by South Africa as “vaccine apartheid,” wealthy nations have already begun hoarding vaccines, with countries that account for 14% of the world’s population pre-ordering 53% of the most promising vaccines. And with COVAX (the joint project led by the World Health Organization and Gavi) still in need of $4.3 billion, lower-income countries are all but guaranteed to be left behind.
“People’s Vaccine Alliance is reporting nearly 70 countries in the developing world will only get enough vaccines to inoculate 10% of their citizens – that, coupled with wealthy countries buying up enough doses to vaccinate their populations multiple times over – is simply unacceptable,” said Loretta Wong, AHF Deputy Chief of Global Advocacy and Policy. “The pandemic has devastated economies globally, but developing countries have been hit the hardest—pharmaceutical companies must be compelled to share their knowledge to give those most in need their best chance to access lifesaving medicines. Wealthy nations must relax IP protection protocols!”
The battle for access to free or affordable vaccines and medicines is an unfortunate and familiar aspect of public health, which is why the world is in desperate need of a new Global Public Health Convention for the 21st century. The time has come for governments, global health agencies and the pharmaceutical industry to put cooperation and lives above their respective financial bottom lines.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.5 million clients in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare
