蜜芽传媒

Wealthy countries including the UK are blocking proposals that would help developing countries - many with no access to current covid vaccine supplies - to increase their manufacturing capabilities, a draft of World Health Organization (WHO) discussions leaked to Newsnight show.

Several countries in poorer parts of the world have asked WHO to help them improve their ability to make medicines and vaccines.

But a leaked copy of the negotiating text of a WHO resolution designed to help countries increase their local production capacity and their ability to produce medicines and vaccines show that the UK along with the US, the EU and several other richer countries are pushing back on provisions in international law that would enable them to do that.

A government spokesperson said:

鈥淎 global pandemic requires a global solution and the UK is leading from the front, driving forward efforts to ensure equitable access around the world to COVID vaccines and treatments.

鈥淎s one of the largest donors to COVAX, our funding is going to help to distribute one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines to developing countries this year alone.鈥�
听
Health Correspondent Deb Cohen reports.

Show less