• Early in the pandemic, India and South Africa submitted a proposal which called for specific provisions of the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) to be waived temporarily by WTO members.
  • However, access to technology by low-and middle-income countries is viewed as a constant threat, and their research contributions are either ignored or receive little public attention. Similarly, the IP system creates a thicket of monopolies that block local production and generic competition against their pharmaceutical corporations.
  • The limited plan unveiled last month by the WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has come under criticism. The limited plan is restricted only to vaccines, excluding therapeutics and other medical products, and also lacks teeth in many ways.
  • India stands at crossroads at this point. If adopted, the proposal in its current form could set a negative precedent for efforts to increase access to medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic tests now and in the future. India’s role in global health diplomacy at this point is crucial.