Johannesburg, Jun 16 (PTI) South Africa remains steadfast in its demands for a waiver that will enable developing countries to manufacture vaccines, Trade Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Thursday as talks entered the fifth day at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), amid objections from pharmaceutical companies and some developed countries.

The discussions at the ongoing 12th WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva were triggered by a joint proposal by South Africa and India in October 2020 for a time-bound and specific waiver of certain provisions of the Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights agreement (TRIPS) administered by the WTO, to allow manufacturers in developing countries produce vaccines without the patent holder's consent.

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“South Africa will remain firm that any agreement must enable production of vaccines to save lives,” Patel said after four days of negotiations by South Africa and India with the support of more than 100 countries from Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

The talks have been extended by an additional day to assist countries to find a package of agreements to address overfishing in the world's oceans, agriculture policies, food security, and reform of the WTO.

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Negotiators from the sponsoring countries have been locked in talks over months and on Monday, they presented text on waivers and flexibilities to the TRIPS Agreement and a draft Ministerial Declaration in response to COVID-19.

While most countries have acknowledged the need for a comprehensive WTO response to the pandemic with the TRIPS waiver at its core, some developed countries have objected to the terms of the proposed agreement.

A number of pharmaceutical companies have also reportedly objected to the text.

“The proposal by India and South Africa for a waiver was based on the principle that human lives in a pandemic should be the top priority and that the fruits of science and innovation must be used to save lives across the world,” Patel said at the conference.

“It was based on the bitter experience of developing countries – we were last in the queue for a range of critical health products in the fight against COVID-19.

“When the waiver was first proposed, one million people had already died of COVID-19. Twenty months later, more than five million additional people have died. Economies have been devastated. Even today, Africa still does not produce the drug substance required as the key base of all vaccines; and a continent of 1.4 billion people remains dependent on importing such a necessary ingredient,” he explained.

The minister called for support for the proposal by South Africa and India.

“This is the moment for all countries to show leadership. Human lives must be prioritised,” he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)