During the Global Health Summit, hosted by Italy on May 21st, the G20 and the European Commission (EC) co-signed the Rome Declaration. We applaud their recommitment to strengthening health systems for global health security and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). However, in our opinion, the Declaration is not bold nor concrete enough on effective global health cooperation, strengthening health systems and intellectual property rights. It also fails to critically assess the importance of public financing and governance in health systems, and lacks urgency on solving the global health workforce crisis. We raised these points during the EC/G20’s consultations with civil society organisations a month before the Summit. Looking at the final Declaration, we identify some missed opportunities.
Continue readingMonth archive: May, 2021
SRHR-information box presented to committee for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
The committee for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation was presented with a so-called ‘Free Box’ in the Dutch House of Representatives this morning. A group of civil society organisations, including Wemos, offered this information box to draw attention to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in low and middle-income countries.
Continue readingWaiver patent protections is an important step in the right direction
Wemos warmly welcomes the US government’s proposal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a temporary waiver of patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines. It is now up to the Netherlands and the European Union (EU) to follow suit. This patent waiver – which would temporarily lift patent protections – will give all pharmaceutical companies the right to also produce vaccines. This could be a breakthrough for global access to these vaccines.
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