The India/SA WTO TRIPS proposal is an IP waiver including trade secrets/know-how (not just patents). So ‘abolish the patents’ is not a magical slogan but shorthand for what India/SA have called for since late 2020:
waive patents + share knowhow + build production in global south
waive patents + share knowhow + build production in global south
https://twitter.com/hyperplanes/status/1386386912408219649
The complexities of vaccine production have always been evident & undeniable. But it was clear by Dec 2020 that relying on the pharma market production approach was not going to produce sufficient volumes to vaccinate the world. Even the EU has struggled to obtain doses.
From Jan the US/EU/UK should have thrown the entirety of their pharma-industrial capacity into (I) making vaccines in the West; and (II) helping to build capacity in the global south. A lot has been done on (I) but very little on (II).
The nightmare in India was foreseeable. Modi deserves a lot of blame. But the West has the power to do much more & is *failing* to do so. The US/UK/EU must help build capacity via tech transfer in the global south *now* or the India crisis will be repeated all over South Asia
The India/SA TRIPS proposal is political and aims to put pressure on the West to do what is necessary. So far, voluntary measures have been totally insufficient. The WTO TRIPS IP waiver proposal is very far from ‘magical thinking’ - it is a rational response to a global crisis.
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