Head of global pharma group suggests pandemic ‘social contract’
Rich countries engaged in vaccine hoarding during the Covid-19 pandemic leaving Africa scrambling to get supplies.
Keystone / Siphiwe Sibeko
The president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) says rich industrialised countries and the pharmaceutical industry must prepare for the next pandemic. Critical of vaccine nationalism, Thomas Cueni wants to ensure that poorer countries get access to vaccines faster when crises hit.
This content was published on
2 minutes
www.swissinfo.ch/ds
العربية
ar
رئيس مجموعة شركات الأدوية العالمية يقترح «عقدا اجتماعيا» لمكافحة الأوبئة
What is needed is a kind of social contract, argues Cueni in an interview published by the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. He says industry is prepared to reserve part of the production for poorer countries. In return, rich countries must provide initiatives like COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility) with enough funding to buy the reserved production.
Vaccination priority should be given to people who work in healthcare or are over 65 years old, he says, respectively 1% and 8% of the global population.
“A willingness on the part of companies to reserve part of the production for these population groups in poorer countries right from the start in the event of a pandemic could be a real game changer,” he says.
Vaccine nationalism
Cueni notes that rich countries engaged in a kind of hedging at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. They ordered all promising vaccines to ensure they have the vaccine that ultimately gets approved. Then they hoarded vaccines on a large scale. “This vaccine nationalism was the big problem,” he says.
Africa, in particular, was left behind. “Therefore, by 2040, Africa wants to cover around 60% of its vaccination needs from its own production,” he notes. “But that doesn’t happen overnight, because an entire infrastructure has to be set up.”
The costs of a pandemic preparedness fund pale in comparison with the costs of the pandemic, he notes, citing calculations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Such a fund would require around $20 billion. The Covid-19 pandemic is expected to cost $13.8 trillion by 2024.
Based in Geneva, IFPMA represents the biopharmaceutical industry at the global level. Cueni has been at the helm of the organisation since 2017, having previously served as secretary general of Interpharma, the association of pharmaceutical research companies in Switzerland.
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Sylvain Saudan, ‘skier of the impossible’, dies aged 87
This content was published on
The Swiss father of extreme skiing pioneered descents from the Alps to the Himalayas – and became the sport’s first star.
Hayek family buys additional Swatch shares for nearly CHF11 million
This content was published on
Following the acquisition of registered shares worth over CHF20.6 million on Monday, the Hayek family made another purchase on Tuesday.
Suicide capsule to be used in Switzerland this year, says euthanasia organisation
This content was published on
The organisation “The Last Resort” has confirmed that the suicide capsule Sarco is to be used in Switzerland. This should happen this year, it said.
Ukrainian children flown to Switzerland for cancer treatment
This content was published on
The Swiss air rescue service Rega flew two Ukrainian children with cancer to Switzerland from a hospital in Kyiv hit by Russian missiles.
Swiss Solidarity raises over CHF10 million for victims of extreme weather
This content was published on
The money raised will be used to help those affected by the recent storms and flooding in the cantons of Ticino, Graubünden, and Valais.
Swiss giant Roche given green light for lung cancer drug in Canada
This content was published on
According to a recent study, Roche’s Alecensaro reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 76% compared to chemotherapy alone.
Swiss luxury watch market hit hard by China-led slump
This content was published on
Sales of Swiss-made luxury watches are in sharp retreat as nervous consumers reconsider splashing out on expensive timepieces and demand slumps.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Covid-19: Switzerland can smile again. But for how long?
This content was published on
While Switzerland is back to normal, countries like China struggle to contain the pandemic. Elsewhere, people haven't received their first jab yet.
This content was published on
Public health experts are cautious about lifting Covid-19 restrictions. One key reason is that we still can't test for our immunity to the virus.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.