At the virtual meeting of the World Health Organization’s 148th Executive Board, Knowledge Ecology International delivered the following remarks on the COVID-19 response (agenda item 14.1) on Tuesday, 19 January 2021. Non-state actors are limited to one minute statements.
148th session of the Executive Board
Agenda Item:
14.1 COVID-19 response
Tuesday, 19 January 2021
Knowledge Ecology International asks WHO to exert greater leadership in measures to scale production, increase competition, and speed the delivery of vaccines, therapeutics and other technologies and other technologies in the COVID-19 response.
WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) should publish model agreements for the sharing of rights in inventions, data, biologic resources and know-how, including specifically, the components of full technology transfer that C-TAP is seeking for each relevant technology.
WHO should publish a report on global manufacturing capacity for each relevant COVID-19 medical technology, including each type of COVID-19 vaccine, with commentary on measures necessary to bring facilities into GMP compliance for specific vaccines and other COVID-19 health technologies.
The WHO should commit to full transparency of all technology transfer agreements with rights holders and with licensees.
For C-TAP to succeed, WHO needs to hold bi-weekly public briefings, where news media can hold the Secretariat, WHO member states, manufacturers, and rights holders accountable.