A Vaccine TRIPS Waiver Now: Letter to WTO

Vaccination can save lives in millions. Massive upscaling of vaccine production is required across the globe with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and with the prospect of new waves, and new variants in the future.

The World Federation of Public Health Associations, the Sustainable Health Equity Movement and the Global Network for Academic Public Health urge the World Trade Organisation to do everything in its power to achieve agreement to a temporary vaccine Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights waiver at its Ministerial Conference.

We believe the vaccine TRIPS waiver is the single most important action that can be taken to secure full and fair access to vaccine across the world, to give us the best possible chance of ending this pandemic, saving lives, and preventing disease and disability.

26th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention

The 26th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention takes place on November to 3 December 2021.

Deborah Klein Walker, Chair of the WFPHA Women, Adolescent and Children’s Health Working Group, attends this session with a statement on strengthening education, outreach and other public health initiatives in all Member States. She has highlighted the role that WFPHA Global Charter for the Public’s Health has in addressing and eliminating chemical weapons, including guidance for protection, prevention, and promotion services using its four core functions.

Statement (Video)

WFPHA at WHASS2: Better Prepared with a Pandemic Treaty

The World Health Assembly Special Session (WHASS) takes place on 29 November to 1 December 2021. This special session happens for the second time in the history of the World Health Organization.

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) attends this session with a strong statement addressing the WHASS to declare its full support to a new Pandemic Treaty and urging WHASS participants to decide in favor of a new Pandemic Treaty, to fuel and engage Member States as well as civil society organizations in realizing it as soon as possible.

Waive Vaccine Intellectual Property Rights Now!

In the current global pandemic, vaccine equity means a fair distribution of vaccine, so that all countries can immunise their populations regardless of their income, pre-existing infrastructure, political context or economic development. People who live in low-and-middle-income countries are significantly less likely to have access to vaccination than those in high income countries, even if they are in the highest clinical risk groups or are health or care workers. COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce the burden of serious illness, death, duration of symptoms and risk of transmission. Vaccination is our most important means to control the pandemic. Failure to control the level of virus circulating in communities increases the risk that new vaccine-resistant variants will emerge. This will prolong the pandemic for all countries, leaving us all at risk of new, high consequence variants. It remains the case that we will not be free of this virus, until we are all free of it.

The Global Network for Academic Public Health and WFPHA has released a statement in support of waiving intellectual property rights related to COVID-19 vaccines to increase global vaccine equity.

Key Actor to Manage a Pandemic

“The key actor in this pandemic is All of Us!”

Who is the key actor to manage a pandemic? Prof. Bettina Borisch, member of Coalition of International NGOs for Equity, answers the question.

Click on the link below to watch the video.

Global Public Health Week 2022

The first edition of Global Public Health Week (GPHW) commences on April 4th 2022, with the theme “Public Health Matters: Building the New Future”. It will be a hybrid event, combining face to face and digital gatherings worldwide.

During GPHW, the WFPHA brings together institutions, communities, and public health actors from around the world to recognize the contributions of public health and its workforce. This annual event engenders discussion on the best practices and missing gaps fundamental to disease prevention and the promotion of health and wellbeing.