The 65 million global campaign network, Avaaz, has joined hands with influential movie stars, scientists, and Nobel laureates in a call for a People’s Vaccine.
The campaign has almost reached the one million mark and with the added clout of artists like Forest Whitaker, George Clooney, Sharon Stone, Lily Cole, Peter Gabriel, Yemi Yalade, and Dia Mirza, Avaaz is hoping that enough pressure will be put upon the powers that be to make the vaccine accessible to all.
Avaaz is urging citizens around the world to sign a petition demanding that Covid vaccines and treatments become available to all, not just the wealthiest countries.
According to an official press release,” more than 100 governments already endorse an emergency proposal to suspend the patents for Covid-related vaccines and treatments, allowing production to be massively scaled up, and experts say that public pressure can help persuade others, like the US, to join and tip the balance!"
The petition is addressed to world leaders, pharmaceutical companies, and member countries of the World Trade Organization and reads as follows :
We call on you to urgently ensure access to lifesaving Covid-19 vaccines, treatments, and equipment for everyone in the world. Patents should be lifted, technological knowledge shared freely and openly, and no profiteering allowed during this pandemic. Governments, scientists, and pharmaceutical companies must cooperate and combine resources to ensure no one is left behind. The pandemic will not be over until it’s over everywhere.
The covid vaccines could save millions of lives but because they are owned by pharmaceutical giants that cannot produce enough for everyone fast enough, the world's richest countries have already bought most of the doses, leaving developing nations facing a massive shortfall. But it doesn't have to be like this. Governments could agree this month on a global plan to suspend all patents for Covid-19 vaccines, allowing production to be massively scaled up.
Avaaz is urging citizens of the world to join them saying :
Patents must be lifted -- and it's happened before. In 2001, after years of public pressure, the countries of the world agreed to free HIV/Aids treatments from patents, allowing affordable, generic versions to be made, saving millions of lives. Now they must do it again. India and South Africa, supported by more than 100 nations, have tabled an emergency proposal at the World Trade Organisation to temporarily suspend the patents for Covid-related vaccines and treatments until the pandemic is over. Governments are meeting again soon - so let’s create a huge wave of public support to help pass this emergency proposal, and make Covid treatments available to everyone!
If you would like to add your voice go to https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/peoples_vaccine_2021_loc/
You can also find Avaaz on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
