UNTENABLE PROFITEERING

Malaysia has recently co-sponsored a proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to suspend Intellectual Property Right (IPR) rules on COVID-19 vaccines, medicines and diagnostics. With this, it has become one among the over 60 countries supporting the waiver, which will help other countries produce their own vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19. At the same time, by his recent comment, “If you take away the IPR, it is difficult to motivate scientists to do their research,” the German Ambassador to India has tried to provide a base for those countries which are opposing the waivers.

The move for demanding waiver began almost a year back as India and South Africa had initiated it back in October 2020 by submitting a proposal suggesting a waiver for all WTO members on the implementation of certain provisions of the agreement regarding prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19. The relaxations were sought to ensure quick and affordable access to vaccines and medicines for developing countries. The waiver was sought from the implementation, application and enforcement of specific provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. The proposal was amended in May 2021 to seek a waiver for limited years. The TRIPS Council is instrumental in negotiating the number of years for the waiver to be in effect. However, there has been no agreement over the waivers and the whole issue appears to be caught up in a web, despite two meetings being held in June and September. In June, the EU forwarded a counter proposal suggesting the use of the existing flexibilities in TRIPS to help end the COVID-19 crisis.

Japan and several other countries supported the proposal and even the US changed its earlier position to support it. Still, the UK, Switzerland, Canada, and the European Union are opposed to it. By opposing the waivers, in a way, they are blocking ways to help poor countries produce vaccines. On the other hand, some of these countries have apparently not shared promised vaccine doses. The waivers will enable vaccine producers across the world to initiate and/or increase vaccine production. This will help in more and easier accessibility as well as affordability.

This is crucial as the vaccine inequality is widening with each passing day. High income countries have 20 times more access to vaccines than low income nations. Same is true about testing, (which stands at 92 times more than that of low income nations), Oxygen and treatments.

Human Rights Watch and Equal Access to Health and Medical Services for All from Japan have written to the leaders of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD/ QUAD) nations - a strategic dialogue between the United States, India, Japan and Australia. Amnesty International, too has expressed a similar opinion in its report and blamed six major pharma companies for “causing human rights harm by refusing to share technology. While wealthier countries have started vaccinating children and offering the additional booster doses, only 0.3 per cent of the six billion doses administered globally have been given to the poorest nations. This has resulted in 55 per cent people in rich countries being fully vaccinated while less than 1 per cent in lower income countries.

Considering the huge investments that are made in research with no guarantee of success, there is no doubt that securing IPRs is important for vaccine manufacturers. But, experts have countered this argument by pointing out that for COVID-19 vaccine research huge amounts of funding was provided by governments and payments for advance orders were also made. This had considerably reduced the risk of investment.

India has, now, also offered to collaborate with East Asian countries for producing off-patent medicines and vaccines to fight COVID-19. At the recent East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting, the reason cited by the Indian minister is both apt and important. As the minister said, “What those opposing waivers need to understand, is that in an interconnected and globalised world no one is safe until everyone is safe.”

While the world is limping back to the so called ‘new normal’, profiteering in health crisis, with disregard for lives of those in underprivileged nations, is untenable.