Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 April 2024
317. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Health whether in international negotiations on a pandemic treaty the Government have sought to ensure that a TRIPS waiver on vaccines will be included; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18571/24]
View answerI thank the Deputy for her query in relation to the TRIPS waivers and the World Health Organisation Pandemic Agreement (WHO CA+).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the global status quo in terms of pandemic preparedness and response is not adequate and requires revision. It also demonstrated the cross-border nature of a pandemic, and that States need to work collaboratively in managing their response to such a threat. As such, Ireland strongly supports a multilateral approach to global health issues with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a central leadership role.
On 1 December 2021, the members of the World Health Organisation (WHO) reached consensus to begin the process of negotiating a convention, agreement, or other international instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, commonly known as the Pandemic Agreement. Ireland supports this WHO-led process to negotiate a binding legal instrument on pandemic preparedness and response, the aim of which is to protect public health and to help save lives in the event of future pandemics.
An Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) was established and met for the first time on 24th February 2022. The INB has met nine times to date to progress work on the drafting of this agreement with the most recent meeting taking place in March 2024. It is anticipated that the Pandemic Agreement will be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2024.
In relation to the Deputy’s query, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) is an international legal agreement between all the member states of the World Trade Organisation and establishes minimum standards of protection of intellectual property rights that each WTO member must afford to other WTO member states.
At the 12th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in June 2022, WTO Members adopted a Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement (commonly referred to as the TRIPS wavier). The Decision clarified the range of mechanisms available to WTO members to limit the exclusive effect of patent rights in order to support equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. The Ministerial Decision is a standalone measure specific to Covid-19 vaccines and is not included in the WHO pandemic treaty.
The TRIPS Agreement contains flexibilities that are available to WTO Members to allow them to take measures to protect public health and the current draft of the Agreement includes measures related to the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement. A copy of the current draft is available at apps.who.int/gb/inb/pdf_files/inb9/A_inb9_3-en.pdf .
As the proposed instrument is currently being negotiated, it is not possible at this time to determine the final text or the precise legal ramifications of the instrument, nor has it been determined what form the instrument shall take. I trust that the above information is of assistance to you.
