This week, the world will commemorate the first-ever International Day of Human Fraternity. Health comes under the spotlight, with a focus on eradicating cancer as well as female genital mutilation globally by 2030. In Cape Town and Pretoria, health activists deliver demands to embassies on the TRIPS waiver. And health experts discuss the impact of Covid-19 on adolescents.
This week the world will commemorate the International Day of Human Fraternity for the first time. The 4 February occasion will give focus to initiatives to promote interreligious and intercultural dialogue to enhance peace and respect, as exemplified by the meeting of Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyib, on 4 February 2019 to sign the document “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”. This inspired the date.
The proposed game-changing waiver of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) would enable free flow of medicines, Covid-19 therapeutics and technology transfer across the world, experts said.
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[SAnews.gov.za] Chairperson of the African Union (AU), President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the World Trade Organization to waiver specific Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) obligations related to the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 for a defined period.
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Patents a litmus test for global vaccine rollout
Late in December last year, the world saw some light in the dark humanitarian tunnel of the coronavirus pandemic when more vaccines were approved for use.
Until then, the world relied primarily on non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). These range from wearing masks and social distancing to hard lockdowns, with the latter having profoundly harmful effects and consequences around the world. The lockdowns decimated economies large and small and amplified social dichotomies.
Where learning was disrupted, those with access to technology and online platforms gained a step in the socioeconomic ladder, putting them ahead of their peers. The effect of this disparity has intergenerational consequences for learning outcomes and social mobility.