• About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
  • Login
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2DNew
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships
No Result
View All Result
The Vaultz News
No Result
View All Result

AU backs call to waive intellectual property rights on COVID-19 drugs

thevaultzby thevaultz
February 25, 2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
thevaultzby thevaultz
in Africa
0
AU backs call to waive intellectual property rights on COVID-19 drugs

A South African receives Covid vaccine.

The Director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, John Nkengasong has intimated that the African Union is backing calls for drugmakers to waive some intellectual property (IP) rights on COVID-19 medicines and vaccines to speed up their rollout to poor countries.

Speaking at a news conference, the head of AU’s disease control body posited that IP transfers were a “win-win for everybody” that would address huge inequalities in global public health.

South Africa and India, which both manufacture drugs and vaccines, made the proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) last year, saying IP rules were hindering the urgent scale-up of vaccine production and provision of medical products to some patients.

RelatedPosts

Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources

Nigeria’s Economy Records Fastest Growth In Four Years

Nigeria’s Oil Earnings From US Face Sharp Decline

The two countries have faced opposition from some developed nations, but the backing of the African Union is expected to give a renewed drive to the push to relax IP rules.

afcdc

Mr Nkengasong during the conference, gave two examples where the developing world had suffered from restricted access to medicines; the swine flu pandemic in the late 2000s and HIV/AIDS in the 1990s.

“In 1996, HIV drugs were available, and we saw how mortality in the developed world decreased drastically. But it would take 10 years before those drugs were accessible in Africa in any meaningful way.

“In between, 12 million Africans died, so I just use those numbers to say…any IP transfer will be beneficial to everybody, because nobody wants to sit back and be proud of that sad event. … We want to be on the right side of history.”

John Nkengasong

Mr Nkengasong also used the platform to announce that the Africa CDC’s regulatory taskforce had approved AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. This comes a day after Ghana received its first AstraZeneca doses from global vaccine distribution facility COVAX.

  • African nations encouraged to use AstraZeneca vaccine despite COVID-19 variants

Additionally, he revealed that the developers of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine had submitted data dossiers to the Africa CDC and an expert panel would review it. He also said the organization has not “received dossiers yet from China colleagues but we remain optimistic.” Countries including Egypt, Zimbabwe and Senegal have already started rolling out Chinese COVID-19 vaccines.

Addressing reports of shortages in the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients that have led to unnecessary deaths in Africa and Latin America, the African CDC Director said medical oxygen is a “huge critical need” across the continent and is a main reason that COVID-19 patients are likely to die here during case surges.

nigeria
A worker from a private medical service delivers oxygen in Lagos, Nigeria. Image:Sunday Alamba

It takes about 12 weeks to install a hospital oxygen plant and even less time to convert industrial oxygen manufacturing systems into a medical-grade network. But Nigeria for instance, only decided to fully address inadequate supplies last month, after hospitals were overwhelmed and patients started to die.

  • Nigeria approves $17m for nationwide oxygen plants amid Covid-19 surge

In a separate interview, Dr. John Adabie Appiah of the World Health Organization stated that even before the pandemic, sub-Saharan Africa’s 2,600 oxygen concentrators and 69 functioning oxygen plants met less than half the need, leading to preventable deaths, especially from pneumonia.

He indicated that the number of concentrators has grown to about 6,000, mostly from international donations, but the oxygen produced isn’t pure enough for the critically ill. The number of plants that can generate higher concentrations is now at 119.

In all, health experts estimate that 500,000 patients in developing countries currently need 1.1 million oxygen cylinders a day. A global task force focusing on oxygen is set to be introduced this week and will include the World Health Organization and World Bank, among others. Already, $90 million has been identified in immediate oxygen funding needs for 20 developing countries, including Nigeria and Malawi.

intellectual property intellectual property intellectual property intellectual property

Tags: Africa CDCAfrican UnionCOVID-19COVID-19 vaccineintellectual property
Please login to join discussion
Previous Post

ECA holds AfCFTA-anchored Pharmaceutical Initiative event

Next Post

Demand for USD Dip at Forex Auction

[mc4wp_form id="1264"]

Related Posts

Barima Sidney Breaks Silence On Hiatus From Music Production
Entertainment

Highlife Music Set for Revival Through Online Platforms

September 23, 2025
China Establishes “Strategic Partnership” With Palestinian Authority
Asia

Three-Quarters Of UN Membership Recognize Palestinian Statehood

September 23, 2025
Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources
Africa

Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources

September 23, 2025
Lands Ministry Insists State of Emergency on Galamsey Not Immediate
General News

Fix The Country Demands Action as Galamsey Crisis Deepens

September 23, 2025
IMANIFesto Examines Parties’ Solutions to Ghana’s Energy Crisis 
Extractives/Energy

ASEC Rejects ECG Tariff Hike, Demands Accountability First 

September 23, 2025
Ghana’s First Lady, HE Lordina Mahama
General News

Ghana’s First Lady Calls for Global Action to Protect Children

September 23, 2025
Barima Sidney Breaks Silence On Hiatus From Music Production
Entertainment

Highlife Music Set for Revival Through Online Platforms

by Esther Korantemaa OffeiSeptember 23, 2025
China Establishes “Strategic Partnership” With Palestinian Authority
Asia

Three-Quarters Of UN Membership Recognize Palestinian Statehood

by Comfort AmpomaaSeptember 23, 2025
Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources
Africa

Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources

by Lawrence AnkutseSeptember 23, 2025
Lands Ministry Insists State of Emergency on Galamsey Not Immediate
General News

Fix The Country Demands Action as Galamsey Crisis Deepens

by Silas Kafui AssemSeptember 23, 2025
IMANIFesto Examines Parties’ Solutions to Ghana’s Energy Crisis 
Extractives/Energy

ASEC Rejects ECG Tariff Hike, Demands Accountability First 

by Prince AgyapongSeptember 23, 2025
Ghana’s First Lady, HE Lordina Mahama
General News

Ghana’s First Lady Calls for Global Action to Protect Children

by Evans Junior OwuSeptember 23, 2025
Barima Sidney Breaks Silence On Hiatus From Music Production
China Establishes “Strategic Partnership” With Palestinian Authority
Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources
Lands Ministry Insists State of Emergency on Galamsey Not Immediate
IMANIFesto Examines Parties’ Solutions to Ghana’s Energy Crisis 
Ghana’s First Lady, HE Lordina Mahama
[/vc_row_inner]

Recent News

  • Highlife Music Set for Revival Through Online Platforms
  • Three-Quarters Of UN Membership Recognize Palestinian Statehood
  • Congo Refuses To ‘Auction’ Mineral Resources
  • Fix The Country Demands Action as Galamsey Crisis Deepens
  • ASEC Rejects ECG Tariff Hike, Demands Accountability First 
The Vaultz News

Copyright © 2025 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • General News
    • Education
    • Health
    • Opinions
  • Economics
    • Economy
    • Finance
      • Banking
      • Insurance
      • Pension
    • Securities/Markets
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Vaultz Business
    • Extractives/Energy
    • Real Estate
  • World
    • Africa
    • America
    • Europe
    • UK
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Around the Globe
  • Innovation
    • Technology
    • Wheels
  • Entertainment
  • 20MOBPL2D
  • Jobs & Scholarships
    • Job Vacancies
    • Scholarships

Copyright © 2025 The Vaultz News. All rights reserved.