Agenda Item 15.1 Strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies

Thank you chair,

The establishment of the international negotiating body (INB) comes two years into a pandemic that has killed over five million, afflicted many millions more, and seriously disrupted lives and livelihoods of people around the world. It comes at a time when access to life-saving health technologies and goods remains painfully unequal and proposals to counter such disparities, including the TRIPS waiver, remain blocked by few wealthy countries.

We remain concerned as to how this new instrument will ensure that equity in access to health technologies in a pandemic is the rule rather than not just a dream. As we prepare for the next pandemic, initiatives such as the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) show us the possibilities at our disposal when knowledge and data are shared for the common good.

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