WHO Secretary-General: "COVID-19 Vaccine Intellectual Property Rights Are Secondary to Saving Lives"

On the 22nd, one day before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (right) is meeting with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), at the Tokyo State Guest House. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) argued that life is more important than intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines and that the proposal to waive intellectual property rights does not constitute a seizure of pharmaceutical companies' rights.

On the 21st (local time), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, who visited Japan to attend the Tokyo Olympics, made these remarks in a video speech at an event co-hosted with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and others.

He said, "Too many lives are at risk," and added, "Profit and patent rights must come second." He continued, "We proposed incentives for the private sector in high-income countries," explaining, "You (pharmaceutical companies) deserve recognition, and we want you not to face financial difficulties due to the waiver of intellectual property rights." However, he did not specify the details of the incentives.

Meanwhile, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, WTO Director-General, pointed out the inequality in COVID-19 vaccine distribution on the same day. She argued, "Of the 11 billion vaccine doses produced last month, only 1.4% went to Africa, which accounts for 17% of the global population," and "Only 0.24% went to people in low-income countries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.