'Don't make profits on publicly funded medicines', open letter blames rich nations for allowing deaths during pandemic

New Delhi: Nearly 200 people have signed a letter urging governments to “never again” allow “profiteering and nationalism” to come before the needs of humanity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Signatories include the Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, former first ladies of South Africa and Mozambique Graça Machel, and former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon. The letter published on Saturday claims, pharmaceutical companies exploited Vaccines made with public funds to ‘fuel extraordinary profits’. The letter claims that businesses sold doses to the “richest nations with the deepest pockets” rather than spreading vaccines, tests, and treatments based on need. Reports is backed by an analysis based on a study published in the Lancet which claims that this inequality caused 1.3 million avoidable deaths, one every 24 seconds, globally in the first year alone of the Covid vaccine rollout. The letter adds, “That those lives were not saved is a scar on the conscience of the world”. Even though publicly funded science had contributed to the success of Covid-19 vaccines, according to Helen Clark, a former New Zealand prime minister and co-chair of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, they weren’t treated as universal necessities. Instead, she claimed, chauvinism and profiteering in the vaccine industry led to a moral and public health catastrophe that prevented everyone from having equal access. The People’s Vaccine Alliance organised the statement, which was released on the third anniversary of the WHO’s announcement that the coronavirus outbreak had turned into a pandemic. The signatories include current and past presidents of 40 nations, including Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, President José Manuel Ramos-Horta of Timor-Leste, and Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Cecil Makgoba. They also include former heads of UN agencies. In the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramos-Horta claimed: “Those of us in low- and middle-income nations were relegated to the back of the vaccine queue and denied access to the advantages of new technologies. We must say “never again” to this crime that has jeopardised people’s safety in every nation three years after it occurred. Many low-income nations today lack access to cheap treatments and diagnostic procedures, according to signatories. They claim that it is reminiscent of the reaction to the HIV and Aids epidemic, when millions of people died because expensive treatments were out of reach for most of the world’s population. The letter encourages world leaders to support a pandemic accord that is currently under discussion at the WHO and treat publicly funded medicines as “global common goods … used to maximise the public benefit, not private profits”. It demands that governments back and finance research and development as well as the elimination of intellectual property restrictions that obstruct the dissemination of scientific knowledge and technological advancements. The WHO’s mRNA hub, which shares vaccine technology with manufacturers in 15 low- and middle-income countries, is also urged to receive assistance from governments. The letter states that by taking these steps, world leaders can start to address structural issues in global health that have slowed down the reaction to COVID-19, HIV and Aids, and other diseases. “It is high time that pandemic preparedness and reaction incorporate justice, equity, and human rights. Only then will we genuinely be able to put this chapter of history behind us and declare, “Never again. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.