AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) calls on President Biden to support a proposal for an expanded waiver on intellectual property (IP) rights for COVID-19 treatments and diagnostics currently being advanced at the World Trade Organization (WTO) despite opposition in the U.S. Congress.
“Opposition to the WTO IP waiver by some members of Congress is shortsighted and misplaced. Technological protectionism and vaccine hoarding during the pandemic cost the world millions of lives and trillions of dollars, while Big Pharma made off with record-breaking profits,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein. “We urge President Biden to do the right thing in the name of global health security and public health and support the waiver. COVID-19 is clearly not over, and other pandemics are inevitable – we must put people’s lives first and be better prepared for the next global health disaster.”
