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Some people call on member states to relax intellectual property rights to expand production
On Thursday, the unfair distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine became the focus of attention, as the populations of many African countries have almost no access to life-saving vaccines, speaking at the UN World Leaders’ Annual Meeting. Some people called on member states to relax intellectual property rights in order to expand vaccine production.
“Unless we are all safe, no one is safe,” is a common motto.
The President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno (Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno) said at the conference: “The virus does not know the continent, borders, nor nationality or social status.”
“Countries and regions that have not been vaccinated will become sources for the spread and development of new virus variants. In this regard, we welcome the repeated calls by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director-General of the (World Health Organization) to have access to vaccines. The rescue of mankind depends on it.”
In the past few days, leaders’ speeches have highlighted the struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic—many of these speeches have been conducted remotely because of the virus. One country after another has admitted that there are huge differences in access to vaccines, painting a picture so bleak that solutions sometimes seem out of reach.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (Cyril Ramaphosa) pointed out that vaccines are “humanity’s greatest defense against this epidemic.”
“Therefore, it is very worrying that the international community has not adhered to the principles of solidarity and cooperation in ensuring fair access to the Covid-19 vaccine,” he said. “This is a complaint against humanity. More than 82% of the world’s vaccine doses are obtained by rich countries, and less than 1% goes to low-income countries.”
He and others urged UN member states to support a proposal to temporarily abandon certain intellectual property rights established by the World Trade Organization to allow more countries, especially low- and middle-income countries, to produce Covid-19 vaccine.
The President of Angola, Joao Lourenco, stated that “it is shocking to see the difference in vaccine supply between some countries and others.”
“These differences allow for the third dose in some cases, while in other cases, such as in Africa, the vast majority of the population has not even received the first dose,” Lorenco said.
Countries such as the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Israel have already started using boosters or announced plans to do so.
The President of Namibia, Hage Geingob, called it “vaccine apartheid.” This is a noteworthy reference, because when the minority government of neighboring South Africa controls Southwest Africa (Namibia’s pre-independence in 1990) Name), the country’s own experience of apartheid.
Benido Impouma, the project director of the WHO Africa Project, pointed out at a weekly video news conference that the surge in new Covid-19 cases in Africa has begun to ease. With 108,000 cases and more than 3,000 deaths, 16 countries are still recovering, and this struggle is far from over.”
“It is expected that there will be a new increase in cases in the next few months,” Impuma said. “Without extensive vaccinations and other public and social measures, the fourth wave on the African continent could be the most severe and cruel.”
On Wednesday, at the Global Vaccination Summit held almost on the sidelines of the conference, President Joe Biden announced that the United States will double the purchase of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine to share with the world to 1 billion doses. The goal is next year. Vaccine 70% of the world’s population.
This move comes at a time when world leaders, aid groups and global health organizations are increasingly talking about the slow rate of global vaccination and the inequality of vaccination between residents of rich and poor countries.
The WHO stated that only 15% of the vaccine pledged — from rich countries that have access to large amounts of vaccine — have already been delivered. The United Nations health agency said it hopes that countries “immediately” fulfill their dose-sharing commitments and provide vaccines for projects that benefit poor countries and especially Africa.
Earlier this year, Biden broke with European allies and agreed to abandon the intellectual property rights of vaccines, but on Wednesday did not reach the necessary global consensus on the issues required by the World Trade Organization rules.
Although some NGOs say these exemptions are essential to promote global vaccine production, US officials acknowledge that this is not the biggest limiting factor in unfair vaccine distribution—some people privately suspect that exemptions for highly complex vaccines will lead to increased production. .
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