A step backwards in the fight against global vaccine inequities

The news that an effective vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 will be introduced imminently was welcomed with great enthusiasm worldwide. The consensus is that access to vaccines for low-income countries is a global responsibility.¹ To make sure that all countries and their citizens will have equal access to a vaccine, Eswatini, India, Kenya, and South Africa proposed a waiver² from certain provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights by the World Trade Organization. Acceptance of the proposal would allow low-income countries to produce their own COVID-19 vaccine. However, various high-income countries rejected the proposal, arguing that they cannot support the proposed broad exceptions to protection of intellectual property rights, even in an exceptional crisis such as COVID-19.³ Another argument, which is used more informally, is that the COVID-19 vaccine is difficult to produce, with demanding production lines and storage requirements. In short, waiving provisions of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights would not make sense since basic scientific and technological conditions for producing and storing the vaccine are insufficiently fulfilled in low-income countries.

The conservative position that is taken by high-income countries is a step backwards in the campaign against global vaccine and immunisation inequities. To move forward, we can no longer accept the basic inequality resulting from the most resourceful nations of the world continuing to claim an unreasonably large share of the global production capacity, as in the case for COVID-19 vaccines. Therefore, strengthening research institutions in low-income regions should be an absolute priority in cooperation agreements between high-income and low-income countries and regions. Strengthening these institutions is particularly relevant for global education and science collaboration with Africa, which is mainly focused on primary and lower-secondary education (ie, age 6–15 years), largely marginalising scientific cooperation and building of scientific capacity.

To alter this traditional focus on primary and lower-secondary education, an alliance of 36 African and European research universities has launched an initiative⁴ to promote the prioritisation of research and innovation in the new strategic, multiannual agreement between the African Union and the EU. The initiative argues for major investments in African research universities to enhance their research and innovation productivity in key areas and improve career opportunities for African researchers on their own continent.

With this initiative, the participating universities give a clear message to all public authorities involved: if the necessary increase in the production and use of relevant knowledge and technology is to be realised throughout the whole continent, then strengthening research universities should be prioritised. The challenges of vaccine and immunisation inequities clearly show the fundamental need for long-term investments in African universities as their continent's key institutions for knowledge.

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