DG Okonjo-Iweala, who has described
equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics as “the
moral and economic issue of our time,” told the Global Health Summit, co-hosted
by the European Commission and the Italian G20 Presidency, that the pandemic
had made clear that “policymakers need to think of preparedness, response, and
resilience as one interconnected package”.
International cooperation on trade is
important for all three elements of this package, she said, arguing that trade
has been a “force for good” in the pandemic by enabling access to much-needed
medical supplies. Even as the value of global merchandise trade shrank by more
than 7% last year, trade in medical supplies increased by 16%, and by 50% for
personal protective equipment, she noted.
With regards to the WTO's role in
addressing the global vaccine scarcity, DG Okonjo-Iweala said members could act
on three fronts.
“First, tackling supply chain issues holding
back vaccine production, from export restrictions and excessive customs
bureaucracy to problems accessing raw materials or hiring skilled workers. The
WTO can help with supply chain monitoring and transparency.”
The second action is helping manufacturers
scale up by “keeping supply lines open and matching underused capacity with
unmet needs,” which DG Okonjo-Iweala declared as “necessary to save lives now”.
“In the longer run, especially if COVID is
with us for years, we need a more geographically diversified global vaccine
manufacturing base. … Having less than 0.2% of capacity in Africa is not a
recipe for supply resilience.”
The Director-General said the WTO would
work with the World Health Organization, Gavi and the Coalition for Epidemic
Preparedness Innovations on the COVAX vaccine manufacturing taskforce to
advance equitable access.
Finally, DG Okonjo-Iweala said WTO members
“must address issues related to technology transfer, knowhow and intellectual
property,” including the proposed temporary waiver from WTO intellectual
property rules for vaccines and other pandemic-related products.
“We must act now to get all our ambassadors
to the table to negotiate a text,” she urged. “This is the only way we can move
forward quickly, we can't move forward with speeches and polemics.”
“I am hopeful that by July we can make
progress on a text and by our Twelfth Ministerial Conference in December, WTO
members can agree on a pragmatic framework that offers developing countries
near automaticity in access to health technologies, whilst also preserving
incentives for research and innovation.”
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