In September 2020, the World Health Organization called for 'equitable access to COVID-19 tools' which included 'the development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines globally, while strengthening health systems'. What evidence is there of inequity of access so far in this pandemic? What is the role of national governments and of the WHO in this?

摘要

The inequity in access to COVID-19 health technologies is produced at every stage of the medical innovation process. From research focussed on the benefit of the richest patient; IP that prevents manufacturing scale up; excessive prices that only factor in the private sector contribution; to unregulated global procure?ment based on wealth, inequity is produced across the lifetime of a health technology.