TRIPS Waiver Petition Letter

Read this in: English | हिंदी | தமிழ் | ಕನ್ನಡ | മലയാളം

Public funding has paved the way for scientific developments to beat the coronavirus – but now corporate property rights are threatening access to vital medicines and equipment and putting millions of lives at risk.

That's why many governments – supported by unions and civil society – are calling for the WTO to waive intellectual property protection measures for Covid-19 vaccines, medicines and medical supplies (a.k.a. TRIPS waiver). But countries from the Group of 7 and the European Union are opposing this proposal.

Sign this letter to let them know that private profits must not be put ahead of public health.

Read more about the TRIPS Waiver:

• Briefing: Health Before Wealth [ English ]

• TRIPS waiver: Background and overview [ English | हिंदी | தமிழ் | ಕನ್ನಡ | മലയാളം ]

SIGN THE Petition

Dear [G7/EU country] leaders,

As health workers on the frontline of the COVID pandemic in India and South Africa, every day we are witness to the tremendous suffering the virus is causing; people taking their last breaths and families being ripped apart. Our fellow health workers are also dying.

We know many health workers and their families in the [G7/EU country] have experienced immense suffering as well and we share a collective grief with them.

What we do not share, however, is the sense of hope that people in the [G7/EU country] are now starting to have, because of the life-saving vaccines which are being rolled out there.

While [EU/G7 countries] have enough vaccines for more than their entire population, 9 in 10 people in the poorest countries will miss out on a vaccine this year. As health workers we have an obligation to protect the life of all people, but it is our people who are last in line for the vaccine.

A handful of companies in our countries are already making Covid 19 vaccines but there are many more manufacturers in ours and other developing nations with the skills and capacity to make more, so that more lives could be saved. It pains us that the [G7/EU] government is actively blocking efforts that would allow this to happen.

Our governments have proposed a temporary waiver of intellectual property rules , which would allow qualified manufacturers across the globe to produce more vaccines and other Covid health technologies such as therapeutics and diagnostics. Yet the [G7 country/EU] are refusing to support this. They are allowing the vaccine knowledge to be hoarded by just a handful of pharmaceutical companies, who get to decide who lives and who dies.

[While our government representatives have been invited to join you at the G7 Summit this week, we want you to hear our voices from the front line of this crisis too.]

How can the [G7/EU] government, in our greatest hour of need, continue to stand by the pharmaceutical monopolies whose choices are killing tens of thousands of us. We call on you to change course and urgently support the waiver of intellectual property rules our governments are calling for. Every day of delay is prolonging our suffering.

*Note this letter may be adapted to target other governments failing to support the TRIPS waiver proposal at the WTO.