Oxfam and PVA statement at IHR 7th mtg

OXFAM AND THE PEOPLE’S VACCINE ALLIANCE STATEMENT FOR IHR REVIEW

Release date: 5 February 2024

Delivered by Dr Mohga Kamal-Yanni, Policy Co-Lead for the People’s Vaccine Alliance, at the IHR Review on 5th February 2024

I am speaking on behalf of Oxfam and the People Vaccine Alliance.

As the IHR enters this critical stage of negotiations, we urge you to quickly adopt concrete measures to ensure timely equitable access to medical technologies in order to protect all populations. You must avoid another inequity of access like in HIV and COVID-19.

Business as usual of monopoly on medical technology clearly failed. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different outcome. Clearly the world needs transformative approach in both the IHR and the Accord.

This means that all member states prioritise public health of all people before commercial interest. Therefore, all member states should commit to:

  1. Fair allocation of medical products relevant to health crisis according to health needs not ability to pay.
  2. Enabling local production in the Global South through commitment to sharing knowledge and technology, removing IP barriers, and investing in manufacturing.
  3. Implementing conditionalities on public funding for R&D and on purchasing agreements that mandate sharing technology and know-how with researchers, developers, and producers in the Global South and removing IP barriers.
  4. Sharing pathogens is combined with sharing the benefits resulting from sharing the pathogens.
  5. Adequate financing of health systems including Primary Health Care and health workers from national resources and international support.
  6. Implementing transparency and accountability mechanisms to enable public scrutiny of funding decisions and implementation of programmes.
  7. Empowering national and regional decision-making

To protect their people from COVID-19 and potential pandemics, countries in the Global North implemented and proposed policies, that they object to here. They must stop the double standards and instead make concessions to ensure that all populations are protected irrespective of where they live.

Thank you

/ Ends