PRETORIA: South Africa and India CSOs act on countries blocking the TRIPS waiver

Since October 2020, South Africa, together with India, has been leading a proposal at the World Trade Organization – WTO for a temporary patent waiver from certain intellectual property protections on critical COVID-19 medical tools. This move equips government with additional policy space to address production and supply needs before the herd immunity can be reached globally through vaccination.

Despite the clear public health benefit that the waiver can bring, several wealthier countries, including US, UK, Switzerland, Norway, EU, Australia and Canada have been blocking the process. This blockage prevents those who need the vaccine most from receiving it.

The next round of WTO TRIPS Council negotiations on India and South Africa’s landmark proposal for waiving certain intellectual property (IP) during the COVID-19 pandemic will take place this Thursday, 4th February. The proposal initiated by India and South Africa is now being officially co-sponsored by Eswatini, Kenya, Mozambique, Pakistan, Mongolia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Egypt.