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More than 140 world leaders, experts and elders have made an unprecedented call to ensure that COVID-19-19 vaccines, diagnoses, tests and treatments will be provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere
More than 140 world leaders and experts, including the President of South Africa and the President of the African Union, Cyril Ramaphosa, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall and the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo have signed an open letter asking all governments to unite behind a popular vaccine against COVID-19-19. The call was made just days before health ministers virtually met for the World Health Assembly on May 18.
The letter, which marks the most ambitious position established by world leaders in a COVID-19-19 vaccine, requires that all vaccines, treatments and tests are free of patents, mass produced, fairly distributed and available to all people, in all countries, free of charge.
Other signatories include former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown, former President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo, former administrator of the United Nations Development Program and former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark
They join notable economists, health advocates and others, from the President of the Elderly and the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, to the Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, the Director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diseases, Dr. John Nkengasong and Dainius Puras, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
“Billions of people today are waiting for a vaccine that is our best hope for ending this pandemic,” said Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa. “As African countries, we are determined that COVID-19-19 the vaccine must be patent-free, quickly manufactured and distributed, and free to all. All science must be shared between governments. No one should be pushed to the tail of the vaccine because of where they live or what they earn. “
“We must work together to beat this virus. We must pool all the knowledge, experience and resources at our disposal for the good of all humanity, “said Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan.” No leader can rest easy until every individual in every nation can quickly access a free vaccine. “
The letter, coordinated by UNAIDS and Oxfam warns that the world cannot afford monopolies and competition to hinder the universal need to save lives.
“This is an unprecedented crisis and requires an unprecedented response,” said former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. “By learning the lessons of the fight against Ebola, governments must remove all barriers to the development and rapid implementation of vaccines and treatments. No interest is more important than the universal need to save lives. “
Leaders acknowledge that progress is being made and that many countries and international organizations are cooperating multilaterally in research and development, financing and access, including the welcome $ 8 billion pledged on May 4 in the international pledge of contributions marathon. European Union.
However, as many countries and companies are moving with unprecedented speed to develop an effective vaccine, leaders are calling for concrete commitments to ensure it is affordable and available to everyone in the shortest amount of time. These include:
- A global mandatory set of patents and the exchange of all COVID-19-19 related knowledge, data and technologies to ensure that any country can produce or buy affordable doses of vaccines, treatments and tests.
- Rapid establishment of an equitable global manufacturing and distribution plan for all vaccines, treatments and tests that is fully funded by wealthy nations and that ensures transparent “at real cost” and supplies according to need rather than payment capacity.
- This would include urgent measures to vastly increase manufacturing capacity to produce the vaccines in sufficient quantities and to train and recruit millions of health workers to distribute them.
- A guarantee that COVID-19-19 vaccines, treatments and tests are provided free of charge to everyone, everywhere, with priority for front-line workers, vulnerable people and poor countries with the least capacity to save lives.
“Faced with this crisis, we cannot continue with business as usual. The health of each of us depends on the health of all of us, ”said Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. “The COVID-19-19 the vaccine should not belong to anyone and should be free for everyone. Diplomatic topics are not enough: we need legal guarantees and we need them now ”.
“Market solutions are not optimal to combat a pandemic,” said Nelson Barbosa, a former Brazilian finance minister. “A public health care system, including free vaccination and treatment when available, is essential to address the problem, as evidenced by the Brazilian experience with compulsory licensing of antiretroviral drugs in the case of HIV. “
Uniting behind a people’s vaccine against COVID-19-19: open letter and complete list of signatories
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the United Nations Program on HIV/ AIDS (UNAIDS)
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