KEI is an accredited non-state actor at the World Health Organization (WHO). This was the oral statement we delivered during the resumed session of the WHA 73 in November 2020. Our statement focused on agenda item 11.9 – Global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property.
Oral statement of Knowledge Ecology International
12 November 2020
Lofty rhetoric on global public goods and solidarity in the COVID-19 response has not been matched by concrete action on the sharing of know-how and intellectual property rights to facilitate deep technology transfer.
WHO’s COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) should request in writing that funders of COVID-19 R&D including in particular, governments and philanthropies, include language in contracts and use their financial leverage to enable the sharing of know-how, cell lines and rights in data and patents, for COVID-19 related technologies.
There should be no monopolies on patents, regulatory exclusivities, data or know-how in this pandemic. All relevant technology for COVID-19 products should be available either free or openly licensed with non-discriminatory, reasonable and affordable royalties.