This playground just outside the Slovak capital, Bratislava, was sealed off to stop people spreading the virus. Similar measures were in place in cities and towns across Europe. Credit: Ed Holt/IPS
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 17 2020 (IPS) – United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday pleaded with global leaders and families to ensure the protection of the world s children, millions of whom he says are vulnerable to a myriad of threats as a result of the shutdown arising from the global coronavirus pandemic.
While children are at a significantly lower health risk than adults from the coronavirus, the social and economic impacts as a result of bot…
Credit: UNICEF/Nahom Tesfaye
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 11 2021 (IPS) – Thanks to President Biden, the US now supports a suspension of intellectual property (IP) rights to increase vaccine supplies. However, without vaccine developers sharing tacit technical knowledge for safe vaccine mass production, it will be difficult to rapidly scale up vaccine output.
Waiver delayed is waiver denied
The CEOs of Pfizer and Astra Zeneca had the US President to reject the waiver request. Nevertheless, on 5 May, US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai announced US support for a vaccine waiver. The hope is that many, mainly rich countries will now stop opposing th…