On the occasion of the day of action against the commercialisation of health, Global Health Advocates endorsed, with other health CSOs, a statement coordinated by the Network Again Commercialization and Privatization of Health and the People’s Health Movement, under the motto “Let’s spread solidarity, not the virus”.
In order to defend public health against industry interests, we demand more human and material resources to fight the pandemic and the abandon of austerity and marketisation policies. We urge world leaders and European states to ensure that medicines and protective equipment are developed and produced in the interest of public health : “Effective and safe medications, protective equipment and vaccines for prevention and treatment of Covid-19 must be available for free to people no matter where they live, without out-of-pocket expenditures and paid for by national health systems at fair prices”.
To tackle this global crisis, we need European states to take a strong stand concerning accessibility and affordability of medicines, medical devices and vaccines : in the event of a break in manufacture or supply or “if the pharmaceutical industry insists on setting unduly high prices, patent rights must be revoked”. We need strong independant pharmacological research.
Read the full statement here.
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