Over the last 2½ years, those of us living on the southern tip of the African continent have had front-row seats to the often absurd and mostly sordid theatre played out at the Zondo State Capture Commission. We have watched and listened to story after story of corruption, mismanagement, dishonesty, greed and self-centredness, of how a small minority of the politically connected and powerful systematically went about capturing the South African state.
As if to rub salt into the gaping wounds inflicted by this sorry saga, along came the Covid-19 pandemic just over a year ago. Despite a few initially positive moves by some states to confront it, both in South Africa and in other countries, it was not long before the same combination of systemic, State Capture “behaviour” once again rose to the surface. Nowhere has this been more acutely applied and felt than in relation to the development, procurement and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 14February 2021
The news posted last week for the coronavirus 2019-nCoV (aka SARS-CoV-2), which produces COVID-19 disease, has been surveyed and some important articles are summarized here. The articles are more or less organized with general virus news and anecdotes first, then stories from around the US, followed by an increased number of items from other countries around the globe. Economic news related to COVID-19 is found here.
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Summary:
All the important US Covid demographic metrics are falling, and in some cases quite dramatically. This week s new cases were down 19.4% from last week s, and down 62.3% from the second week of January; the 7 day average of new cases is now the lowest since November 4th, but it s also higher than every 7 day period before that date. Illustrative of the decline in new cases was a Thursday headline that new cases had to
Intellectual property rights over plants and seeds opposed
Karachi
February 12, 2021
Leaders of the Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity on Wednesday criticised the Ministry of National Food Security and Research’s recent decision to start the registration process for granting intellectual property rights (IPRs) for plants and seeds under the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, 2016 and said that the act would take away farmers’ centuries-old traditional rights of saving and selling seeds.
Roots for Equity’s chairperson Dr Azra Sayeed and PKMT leaders Raja Mujeeb and Asif Khan, while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, said that as a result of national and transnational seed corporations claiming intellectual property rights over seeds, not only would the country become dependent on corporations for national food security and food sovereignty, but the royalties paid to transnational corporations for IPRs would massively increase seed
Application Deadline: February 18th 2021
The Embassy of Sweden is calling for applications to the advanced international training programme on “Intellectual Property for Least Developed Countries.”
This International Training Programme is specially designed for persons qualified to participate in reform processes of importance on different levels and exercising a position in
their home organization with a mandate to introduce change in social, economic, cultural and scientific institutions utilizing Intellectual Property as a tool for development.
As a participant of the Training Programme, you will actively involve yourself to take part in developments related to Intellectual Property for building the national knowledge
The East African
Friday February 12 2021
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The World Trade Organisation (WTO) will meet in the coming days to conclude the appointment of its new director-general, signalling an end to the push-and-pull between the US and other member states.
But the imminent designation of Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, after the US finally backed her, could mean her first challenge is something she has faced before, vaccine politics.
Okonjo-Iweala, the 66-year-old former Finance minister, sits on the board of GAVI, the global vaccine alliance that works with pharmaceutical companies and donors to ensure adequate delivery of inoculation services to the world.
Last month, GAVI said political support was needed if poor and middle-income countries are to access vaccines as wealthier nations strike deals with pharmaceuticals to secure the limited supplies.