While the pandemic has highlighted the value of partnership, it has also demonstrated the damaging effects of unilateral action and unequal access to resources, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Speaking at an international roundtable on Tuesday (4 May), Ramaphosa said that his government was pushing and the African Union was pushing for a temporary Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) waiver at the World Trade Organization for Covid-19.
The waiver would suspend intellectual property rights so that Covid-19 vaccines and other new technologies are accessible for poor countries.
“We cannot hope to overcome this pandemic for as long as richer countries have most of the world’s supply of vaccines to the exclusion and the detriment of poorer countries,” said Ramaphosa.
“As we prepare for future pandemics, we need to accelerate efforts to realise Universal Health Coverage. We need to ensure that vaccines and other life-saving treatments are considered a public
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