WTO calls for diversification of COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing

The director general of the World Trade Organization called for diversifying the manufacture of the vaccine against COVID-19, stating that to defeat the pandemic, more doses must be manufactured in Africa and Latin America.

Speaking to European Union parliamentarians ahead of a world summit on health issues in Rome, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala declared that the usual market forces for imports and exports do not count when it comes to a matter of life and death like that of vaccines, given that rich countries monopolized injections for their own population when the health crisis hit their territories.

He asserted that the world has the capacity to manufacture about 5,000 million doses in total, but pointed out that as the virus spreads, “we need double or perhaps triple that. Therefore we do not have the required capacity ”.

One of the biggest challenges is diversifying vaccine production, with 80% currently concentrated in 10 European, North American and South Asian countries, Okonjo-Iweala said.

“It is not normal that Africa, with 1,300 million inhabitants, has 0.17% of the manufacturing capacity worldwide,” said the official. “Therefore, this must change.”

Latin America, he said, has approximately 2% of the world’s manufacturing capacity.

The summit on health issues, which begins on Friday under the auspices of the European Commission and Italy, is expected to receive industrialized and emerging nations, heads of international organizations and representatives of health organizations from around the world.

The European Union plans to present arguments similar to those raised by Okonjo-Iweala, specifically the need to increase production capacity in Africa.

EU nations have criticized the United States for its proposal to exempt COVID-19 vaccines from the need to register patents, stating that doing so would not bring short-term benefits and could in fact be harmful.

Okonjo-Iweala remained neutral on that issue, but insisted that WTO members must find the necessary flexibility to ensure greater production capacity in developing countries.

–