Vaccine Commodification and Ramifications for Countries in the Global South

By Rawlings Magede

The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed inequalities between countries in the Global North and those in Global South. While governments across the world have responded differently to contain the spread of the virus, vaccine hoarding and use of patent laws has crippled vaccine access and distribution in the Global South. Patent laws such as Intellectual Laws by pharmaceutical companies in the Global North makes it difficult for countries in the Global South to manufacture and distribute vaccines to their populations. The ring fencing of vaccine patents has created monopolies driven by profit and capitalism. The Covax scheme that was designed to bypass this has been plagued by inequity, funding shortfalls and a severe supply crunch. Its initial targets for the year 2021 were missed, partly as a result of the poor health infrastructure in many of the recipient country and partly because of vaccine hesitancy. Cultural and religious beliefs in most countries in the Global South have dealt a heavy blow to the attainment of herd immunity. Waiving of patents across the globe will culminate into better access of vaccines by countries in the Global South.

https://www.africaopl.org/publications/vaccine-commodification-and-ramifications-for-countries-in-the-global-south

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