A petition to WTO – Avaaz insists for universally reachable, affordable Covid-19 vaccines

A petition calling for universal access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines was delivered virtually by Avaaz, a global online citizen movement, to the WTO on 9 December 2020. Over 900,000 individuals from around the world have signed the petition, which asks all governments, WTO members and pharmaceutical companies to “ensure access to lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and equipment for everyone in the world”.

The petition was submitted ahead of a meeting on 10 December of the Council for Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), where WTO members intend to continue discussions on a proposal to waive certain obligations in the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment, or treatment of COVID-19. Considerable differences remain between members over this proposal.

Bernard Kuiten, the WTO's Head of External Relations, received the petition on behalf of the organization. He expressed his appreciation for the time that Avaaz has dedicated to the issue and thanked the organization for its interest in the WTO and for giving citizens worldwide a global platform to express their concerns. He also said that in order to leave this devastating pandemic behind us, international cooperation and coordination are crucial.