Hi John,
Last week the UN secretary-general pointed out that 130 countries have yet to receive a single Covid-19 vaccine dose.
“At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community,” he said. So far, rich countries and big pharma are failing that test.
You might have seen my email last week asking you to donate to the campaign to ensure everyone everywhere has access to a Covid-19 vaccine, and I'm following up with a reminder in case this is something you can consider.
This is a crucial moment in the pandemic, where the actions of the UK government will have a huge impact on whether countries around the world will be able to vaccinate their populations quickly at a fair price.
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Can you donate £3 to the campaign to ensure everyone everywhere can access life-saving Covid-19 vaccines?
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Right now we have a chance to ensure that everyone everywhere has access to a life-saving vaccine
The governments of India and South Africa have put a proposal on the table of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to suspend the global trade rules on patents for Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
This would allow as many manufacturers as possible to start producing the vaccine so we can make enough vaccines as quickly as they are needed. While over 100 countries from the global south support this plan, rich countries are opposing it. And one of those is the UK.
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Your donation would make a big difference
Donations to this appeal will contribute to vital campaign actions:
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• Helping produce campaign resources to support online lobby meetings with parliamentarians to push them to support the campaign to suspend patents for Covid-19 vaccines.
• Covering the costs of creating and promoting videos and online resources, to raise awareness about how big pharma prioritises profits above global health.
• Helping fund vital research exposing big pharma and their role in aggressively lobbying the UK government for their own interests.
• Covering the cost of organising a public ‘day of action’ leading up to the upcoming WTO meeting to put pressure on the UK government.
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Will you help convince MPs and key decision-makers to support the proposal at the WTO by supporting our campaign with a donation of £3 today?
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We need to use this opportunity to show the government that the majority of people in the UK want everyone everywhere to have access to a vaccine, and your donation will support this campaigning at this important time.
Rich countries have been able to make advance payments to pre-order enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations almost three times over, leaving little or none for poorer countries. Friday's announcement that the UK will donate any excess doses to the WHO is welcome, but the global south needs more than scraps off the table.
Allowing big pharma to prioritise profit above public health will mean people continue to suffer and die from the virus and economies continue to decline.
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This could be a game-changing step for global health
With a history of success through years of campaigning on trade and access to medicines for all, we can take on the power of big pharma and put pressure on the UK to stop blocking the proposal to suspend patents for Covid vaccines.
If the proposal is accepted by the WTO in the coming months, it would be a victory for public health while dealing a significant blow to the global rules on patents that have been rigged by big pharma for decades.
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Thank you for your support of our campaigns for a fairer future.
Best wishes,
Heidi Chow
Campaigner at Global Justice Now
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P.S. Suspending patents on Covid vaccines is the best way to ensure countries around the world can emerge from this pandemic, and together we have a chance to achieve this. Please donate today.
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