The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines was unprecedented in its speed and scale and essential in bringing the Covid-19 pandemic under control, but it was a deeply unequal process, with pharma companies taking control of publicly-funded vaccines and prioritising lucrative sales to richer nations. Even as it became clear that these firms wouldn’t have the capacity to meet the urgent demand, pharma corporations refused to give up their vaccine patents or share knowhow with global south countries who wanted to produce their own. As millions went unprotected and the human toll grew, lower-income countries demanded a suspension of intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines
and treatments, but this proposal was blocked by high-income countries, including the UK. As the death toll mounted in low- and middle-income countries, big pharma companies made record profits from their pandemic medicine monopolies. Estimates suggest over a million lives might have been saved if vaccines had been shared more fairly with lower-income countries.
Dr Bill Muriuki is a medical doctor, scholar and activist from Kenya passionate about African history, politics and development.