CAMPAIGN NEWS
© Jess Hurd/Global Justice Now
UK and Germany defend vaccine apartheid deliver the demands of over 2.5 million Global Justice Now has continued people who have signed the global to demand an end to the global petition for a patent waiver. But the ‘vaccine apartheid’ which has seen billions of Covid-19 vaccines distributed G7 summit failed to address the root causes of vaccine inequality, opting in the rich world while less than 2% instead for of people in an empty PR low-income exercise by countries have pledging 1 been protected. billion doses Countries like the in donations, UK are hoarding which quickly enough doses unravelled. to vaccinate Negotiatheir populations tions over several times suspension over, while of patents continuing at the World to block the Trade Organsuspension © Jess Hurd/Global Justice Now ization have of vaccine continued, patents that following the breakthrough of the would enable the world to escalate Biden administration’s pledge of supproduction and supply. In June the UK hosted the G7 summit port in May, which was backed up by of rich country leaders in Cornwall and France. But other EU countries, led by Germany, along with the UK, Norway Global Justice Now was there to give and a handful of others have continthem a People’s Vaccine welcome. ued to block the waiver first proposed We joined the protests and helped
by South Africa and India more than a year ago, and now backed by over 100 governments. The EU put forward an alternative proposal in July in an effort to further delay the negotiations, and once again no agreement was reached. Amid all this lack of action, rich countries have announced plans for booster shots or third doses while not prioritising solutions that can bridge the gap between the vaccine hoarders and the rest of the world. By late August 4.8 billion vaccine doses had been delivered globally, with 75% going to only 10 countries while vaccine coverage in Africa was at less than 2%. As Ninety-Nine goes to press, the modest WHO goal of vaccinating 10% of the population of each nation by the end of September is unlikely to be met, even as close to 10,000 people a day still dying from Covid-19 across the world. Top: Projecting our message at the G7 summit near St Ives in June. Insert: Protesting in Cornwall.
2021 Ninety-Nine 3
