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Imperialism 2 healthy population12/31/2022 ![]() Indeed, the claim of those who want to have vaccines recognized as global public goods goes deeply against the logic of economic profits that benefit the pharmaceutical giants and the countries that host them. Some would argue that the fundamental logic underlying COVAX does not challenge the relevance of patents even during health emergencies. In many ways, the behavior of powerful states reflects a form of capitalist philanthropy, with no incentive to change the global regime of intellectual property rights. But they remain insufficient and reflect two structural problems.įirst, acts of charity are not enough to establish the foundations and institutions of international health solidarity. The commitments made by the wealthiest countries to share vaccines and funding for international cooperation mechanisms are one crucial step. The rise of vaccine diplomacy and vaccine imperialism is a troubling phenomenon with political consequences that must be addressed. Low-income countries rely on COVAX, but they also negotiate deals with pharmaceutical companies and countries that produce vaccines, such as Russia and China. However, one billion doses are needed to reach the WHO goal of vaccinating 10% of the world population by the end of September, 40% by the end of 2021, and 70% in 2022. At the close of the G7 Summit in June, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau pledged to donate the equivalent of 100 million doses to the most vulnerable countries, either in cash or in-kind, through COVAX. The United States supports a temporary exemption from patents. The wealthiest countries, including Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Norway, the EU, and the UK, rejected this proposal. Since May 2021, over 60 nations have been demanding a temporary but broader patent waiver that includes all the tools to fight Covid. South Africa and India, with the support of several hundred countries, took the lead in trying to prevent the inequitable global distribution of Covid vaccines last October, when they asked the World Trade Organization to lift pharmaceutical patents on the vaccines. The so-called generosity of rich countries is poorly planned and 450,000 vaccines doses in Africa were destroyed because they had expired during shipment. Billions of vaccines and related supplies are needed, but delivery is delayed in many countries where cases and deaths are rising rapidly. So far, 74% of the Canadian population has received the first dose of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, compared to only 1.9% of the population in low-income countries. The predacious race in hoarding world stockpiles of Covid-19 vaccines by wealthy nations is a dramatic illustration of the structural and political problems that perpetuate global health inequalities. Eighteen months into the pandemic, we are facing a vital test on solidarity during a global emergency, and we are failing it. Rich countries are giving or contemplating the possibility of giving their residents a third dose of a Covid vaccine, going against the World Health Organization’s appeal for a moratorium on booster shots until more people around the world receive their first dose. In questo breve ma denso articolo, scritto per il sito web dello Hasting Center, si mette in evidenza il conflitto tra una logica puramente economica o una logica securitaria, da una parte, e una prospettiva di salute globale, dall’altra parte: è l’intero sistema mondiale di aiuti ai paesi in via di sviluppo che richiede un cambio di paradigma, mettendo davvero al centro l’accesso ai beni pubblici globali e la garanzia dei diritti fondamentali. Il programma internazionale di aiuti alla vaccinazione, noto come Covax, non sta dando i frutti sperati per riequilibrare la situazione ma, soprattutto, la netta opposizione alla revoca dei brevetti da parte dei detentori costituisce un forte ostacolo al perseguimento dell’equità vaccinale. ![]() Se nei paesi più avanzati si parla di una copertura quasi sempre oltre il 60% della popolazione, e si inizia a programmare la somministrazione di una terza dose per determinate categorie di persone, nei paesi a basso reddito la copertura vaccinale resta spesso al di sotto del 2%. ![]() In tempo di pandemia, le già forti disuguaglianze tra i paesi più ricchi e quelli più poveri stanno aumentando, anche nella distribuzione dei vaccini.
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