Organizations call on Brazil to break patents to tackle Covid-19

In a discussion in the WTO, a proposal supported by the organizations aims to temporarily suspend intellectual property rights on vaccines and medicines

In order to democratize access to medicines against Covid-19, the WTO (World Trade Organization) is discussing this week a proposal to temporarily suspend patents and other intellectual property rights on vaccines to combat the pandemic.

The recommendation, led by India and South Africa, would permit the production of generic vaccines by countries, so as to make universal immunization more accessible. Brazil, however, has come out against the proposal, along with rich countries.

In an appeal addressed to the Brazilian government this Tuesday, February 3, the Working Group on Intellectual Property – a group of 19 civil society organizations, including Conectas and Doctors Without Borders, among others – denounced what it considers an “unacceptable omission” by Brazil.

In the document, the organizations stress the importance of breaking patents on medicines to combat the pandemic. “Governments have before them a historic opportunity to prevent a tragic repetition of the past,” said the organizations in a reference to the global response to HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other diseases. “The biggest obstacle is a handful of countries, among them Brazil, that are blocking the proposal and preventing the Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments from reaching everyone who needs them.”

• Read the statement in full here