ActionAid responds after Biden backs a waiver on IP for Covid-19 vaccines
In response to the announcement from the US President Joe Biden backing a waiver on Intellectual Property (IP) for US manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines, and ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in June, please find a statement from ActionAid International:
Julia Sánchez, Secretary General, ActionAid International says: “The decision made by the Biden Administration to waive the Intellectual Property for Covid-19 vaccines is a crucial step to ensuring access to vaccines in poorer countries. A free and globally accessible vaccine is in the interests of all humanity and is the only way to end Covid-19 for good.
“We are currently witnessing countries’ health systems buckle under the immense pressure of the pandemic. Not only is India’s devastating second wave of Covid-19 overwhelming health care workers, hospitals, and mortuaries, but informal workers – the majority of them women – are either being forced to continue working with no protection or are facing starvation because they have lost their jobs. The lack of available vaccines in places like Gaza and The West Bank is also leading to a surge of infections. Without an accessible vaccine for everyone which is free of charge, these situations will only continue to deteriorate.
“Time and time again, big pharmaceutical monopolies place profits over people, but millions of people demanded that governments act to make Covid-19 vaccines accessible to all. The Biden administration has shown that it can be responsive to these demands for justice.
“Other G7 leaders must show the same international cooperation in the face of the worst humanitarian and economic crisis of our generation. As host, the UK Government needs to step up and lead the way. These countries must throw their weight behind intellectual property waivers on vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a first step, as the Biden administration has now done.
“As well as this, it is vital that the G7 leaders commit to a Great Recovery Plan that ensures a healthy, green, and just future by providing vaccines and healthcare for all, fighting poverty and injustice, and acting to end the climate and ecological crises. Failure to fund the rapid production and rollout of vaccines globally will affect chances of holding an in-person and inclusive COP26 in Glasgow to address the ongoing climate emergency.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us how interconnected we all are, that no one is safe unless we are all safe. When the world is in a crucial moment in its fight against Covid-19, G7 leaders must come together to stop this crisis in its tracks and save lives.”