matter of licensing for practice with serious professional consequences if violated .
Having built a strong foundation in medicine and pharmaceuticals as a result of this humane approach , the ultra-capitalist pharmaceutical companies in the1995 TRIPs agreement , muscled the rest of the world out to insist that patients who cannot afford expensive versions of life-saving medications should be allowed to die .
American pharmaceutical ’ s embargo on access to production of affordable , generic versions of life-saving medications is in stark contrast to the intellectual property history of the United States , a country well documented for state-sponsored production of other nations ’ technology . In the 18th and 19th centuries , the American government actively encouraged citizens to pirate technology from other countries and patent and commercialize same in the United States . In his book , Hot Property : The Stealing of Ideas in an Age of Globalization , author Pat Choate notes that “ Any American could bring a foreign innovation to the United States and commercialize the idea , all with total legal immunity .” This made the United States , “ by national policy and legislative act , the world ’ s premier legal sanctuary for industrial pirates .” Today , through borrowing ideas and learning from other nations , the United States has been transformed into a global leading industrial power . In the words of respected trade historian , Doron Ben-Atar , writing in his book , Trade Secrets , “ the United States emerged as the world ' s industrial leader by illicitly appropriating mechanical and scientific innovations from Europe .
When the world gathered in Durban , South Africa for the very first International AIDS Conference to be held on the continent , only one in 1,000 persons living with HIV in Africa had access to AIDS treatment . That was because only Euro-American companies were allowed to produce Antiretrovirals ( ARV ) and their cost was US $ 10,000 to $ 15,000 per patient per year .
The global outcry against the injustice of the TRIPs agreement led to some changes in 2001 during the Doha Round of Trade Talks . It was at that meeting that low- and middle-income countries were given the go ahead to produce cheaper , generic versions of life saving medications .
Upon her resumption of office as the DG of the World Bank , Okonjo-Iweala met at her table a proposal from South Africa ( co-sponsored by India ), requesting a waiver of Intellectual Property Rights from COVID Vaccine for 3 years , which is enough time to produce and distribute generic versions of the presently expensive vaccine in order to make it more accessible to a wider global population . Other African countries ( as well as other non-African countries ) have since joined South Africa and India in making the demands .
Western pharmaceuticals are fighting this proposal , insisting on being allowed to make as much profit as possible from life-saving medicines . In this conversation , the most important point is that Dr Okonjo-Iweala , through her utterances , has shown great courage in standing up for equal access to life-saving medications for all . In an interview , she granted to the CNBC , Dr Okonjo Iweala stated that “ The level of inequity is quite high ,” since access to vaccines is tied to the rate of economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic . “ I am very concerned that if we continue with the inequity … [ it ] will have a dampening effect on ( the ) recovery in those countries ,” said the Director-General of the WTO . Dr Okonjo Iweala ’ s courage has inspired many leaders to stand up and join hands with her , South Africa , India and other countries in demanding a waiver . Indeed , in a surprising turn of events , the President of the United States , Dr Joe Biden , is standing up to his own pharmaceutical companies by speaking out in support of the call for a waiver .
It is hoped that under Dr Okonjo Iweala ’ s courageous leadership , the necessary waiver for COVID drugs will be secured , and beyond that , other questions of inequality being faced by African countries will be addressed during her tenure .
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Dr Chika Ezeanya Esiobu is a Nigerian writer and academic .
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