· African leaders have welcomed the US decision to support the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines at forthcoming negotiations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
· The United States government a staunch believer in intellectual property protections, announced on 5 May 2021, that the COVID-19 pandemic was a global health crisis that called for extraordinary measures and mooted a temporary and targeted waiver of intellectual property protections that apply to COVID-19 vaccines.
African leaders have welcomed the US decision to support the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines at forthcoming negotiations of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The United States government a staunch believer in intellectual property protections, announced on 5 May 2021, that the COVID-19 pandemic was a global health crisis which called for extraordinary measures and mooted a temporary and targeted waiver of intellectual property protections that apply to COVID-19 vaccines.
South African President Ramaphosa welcomed the approach adopted by the United States as a positive outcome of a campaign led by South Africa and India on behalf of emerging economies since last year. The proposal was supported by more than 100 countries, but opposed by the UK, US and EU and the big pharmaceutical companies.
The US decision is regarded as a huge victory for health rights activists, who had drummed up global support and targeted the Biden-Harris administration to get the US to support the proposal.Responding to the US announcement, Umunyana Rugege, of the Fix the Patent Laws Campaign, a broad alliance of civil society organisations, welcomed the decision, but added that the waiver should include all Covid-19 medical tools, including treatment and diagnostics, and not just vaccines.
The anticipated temporary waiver is expected to enhance manufacturing and boost supply capacity, as well as support coordination and access to information currently under patent protection. The move will boost the capacity for COVID-vaccine production for countries that have manufacturing capacity currently. At the same time, for countries that do not currently have manufacturing capacity, the waiver could open up more supply options. In short the supply available to all nations will be improved.
South African President also urged pharmaceutical companies to join the cause and facilitate sharing of know-how and technology to enable a rapid increase in supply-capacity in order to save lives. Global health experts and activists have pointed out that the US support demonstrated the Biden-Harris administration’s seriousness about ending the global Covid pandemic.
After fierce campaigning by global activists, a similar victory was achieved in November 2001 when, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, a ministerial meeting of the WTO was forced to make the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, announcing that states could issue compulsory licenses on essential medicines when faced with public health emergencies.
