OXFAM International is advocating that governments must give a cast iron pledge that coronavirus vaccines, treatments and diagnostics will be made available to every person on the planet free of charge and according to need. Oxfam’s Health Policy lead, Anna Marriott, said this was necessary after more than $8 billion has been committed for research and development at a Global Coronavirus Response pledging marathon.
“The $8 billion pledged today is a very positive start – but only a start. More money will be needed to support the global manufacture and fair distribution of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics, including the recruitment of millions more health workers in poor countries.
“At the World Health Assembly later this month governments must also provide a cast iron guarantee that all publicly funded vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics will be patent free, made available according to need, and free at the point of delivery.
“We must learn the lessons from the fight against HIV and Swine Flu where the narrow self-interests of corporations and governments meant vaccines and treatments were too expensive or arrived too late. This cost countless lives across the developing world,” Marriott said.
Commenting on the lack of US support for the initiative to date, Marriott said: “President Trump remains isolated and antagonistic to an international collaboration aimed at saving lives of people across the globe. No one individual, community, or country can overcome this crisis alone – we must all work together.”
Prior to the Coronavirus Global Response Summit which held virtually on Monday, 4th May,2020 with the objective of raising $8 billion to develop vaccines, treatments and tests to help end the Covid-19 pandemic, Marriott had stated: “This unprecedented global health crisis must be met with a vaccine plan that puts people ahead of the profits of big pharmaceutical companies. Government donors must ensure that the money they pledge comes with conditions attached, to guarantee successful treatments and vaccines are public goods, available to everybody free of charge.
“They must also ensure that those who are most in need —front line workers and vulnerable people, including those in poor countries— should be at the front of the queue. We urge governments to be generous and to show solidarity in the global fight against this virus.
“Public taxes are paying for the development of a vaccine. Big pharma must not be allowed to profit from it at this critical time of human need. No one is safe until we are all safe —no one must be left behind.”
