South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. In the COVID-19 pandemic, rich countries bought most of the world’s vaccines early, leaving few shots for poor countries and creating a disparity the World Health Organization called “a catastrophic moral failure.” Now, poorer countries are trying to become more self-reliant “because they’ve realized after COVID they can’t count on anyone else,” said Brook Baker, who studies treatment-access issues at Northeastern University.
South Africa, Colombia Aim to Get Lower-Cost Drugs for TB, HIV voanews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from voanews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In a series of moves experts say signal a shift in how developing countries deal with pharmaceuticals, South Africa, Colombia and others have recently adopted a more combative approach towards drugmakers, pushing back on policies that deny treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. Some officials say the change was prompted by the vaccine inequity seen during COVID, which triggered initiatives to help poor countries produce their own treatments. Zolelwa Sifumba, a former TB patient who suffered grueling treatment years ago, says it s critical patients everywhere have access to life-saving medicines.
In a series of moves experts say signal a shift in how developing countries deal with pharmaceuticals, South Africa, Colombia and others have recently adopted a more combative approach towards drugmakers, pushing back on policies that deny treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. Some officials say the change was prompted by the vaccine inequity seen during COVID, which triggered initiatives to help poor countries produce their own treatments. Zolelwa Sifumba, a former TB patient who suffered grueling treatment years ago, says it s critical patients everywhere have access to life-saving medicines.