WE NEED A PEOPLE’S VACCINE: EMERGENCY JOINS THE CALL.
Healthcare is a human right and must be ensured without discrimination.
EMERGENCY has always advocated for access to free and high-quality healthcare for all.
Now more than ever, access to healthcare must include free and fair access to vaccines, which means vaccines available to every human being regardless of their place of birth, economic status or social background.
It is for this reason that EMERGENCY is proud to be part of THE PEOPLE’S VACCINE.
The People's Vaccine is a growing movement of health and humanitarian organisations, past and present world leaders, health experts, faith leaders and economists urging that when safe and effective vaccines are developed they are produced rapidly at scale and made available for all people, in all countries, free of charge.
Together, we are calling on governments and pharmaceutical corporations to:
- Ensure the vaccine is purchased at true cost prices and provided free of charge to people.
- Prevent monopolies on vaccine and treatment production by making public funding for research and development conditional on research institutions and pharmaceutical companies freely sharing all information, data, biological material, know-how and intellectual property.
- Ensure the vaccine is sold at affordable prices: Pricing must be transparent and based on the cost of research, development and manufacturing, as well as taking into account any public funding provided.
- Implement fair allocation of the vaccine which prioritises health workers and other at-risk groups in all countries. Distribution among countries should be based on their population size. In-country vaccination programmes should include marginalised groups, including refugees, prisoners, and people living in slums and other crowded housing conditions. Allocation between and within countries should be based on need and not ability to pay.
- Ensure full participation of governments in developing countries as well as civil society from north and south in decision-making fora about the vaccines (and other COVID-19 technologies) and ensure transparency and accountability of all decisions.