Menu

Topics

Connect

Comments

Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.

Rich, poor countries grapple over bid to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents

WATCH ABOVE: The World Health Organization's director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern that low and middle-income countries were not yet receiving supplies of COVID-19 vaccines and urged countries to stop striking bilateral deals with manufacturers – Jan 8, 2021

A push to increase production of COVID-19 vaccines for poor nations hung in the balance at the World Trade Organization on Wednesday amid disagreement between richer and developing countries over the issue of patent rights.

Story continues below advertisement

South Africa and India planned to renew their bid at a two-day meeting to waive rules of the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) agreement, a move that would allow generic or other manufacturers to make more vaccines.

Their proposal is backed by dozens of largely developing countries at the WTO, but opposed by Western countries including Britain, Switzerland, EU nations and the United States, which have large domestic pharmaceutical industries.

Proposals need backing by a consensus of the WTO’s 164 members to pass.

Story continues below advertisement

The issue was set to come up at the WTO’s TRIPS Council on Wednesday afternoon. Members would then hold an eighth discussion on the topic since it was first raised in October.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who became WTO director-general on March 1, called the intensifying TRIPS discussions “vitally important,” but said governments and businesses needed to act now to increase production, especially in emerging markets.

She said in a speech on Tuesday that manufacturers should come together with bodies such as the World Health Organization and vaccines alliance GAVI, whose board she used to chair, and business associations to look into options.

“We must make sure that in the end we deliver so that the millions of people who are waiting for us with bated breath know that we are working on concrete solutions,” the former Nigerian finance and foreign minister said.

Story continues below advertisement

The next TRIPS Council meeting is set for June 8-9, but the group will probably be convened again to discuss vaccines before then.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Editing by William Maclean)

Advertisement

You are viewing an Accelerated Mobile Webpage.

View Original Article