The Director General
World Health Organization
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva, Switzerland
15 November 2021
Letter in Support of Global Vaccine Access and Future Pandemic Preparedness
Dear Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,
The Covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 5 million lives worldwide. There is an indication that the virus may be receding in some countries due to the progress of their vaccination campaigns but globally, it is clear that the virus has only rejuvenated due to the emerging variants. More than 10 months have elapsed since the vaccines appeared and yet it is still unclear when this pandemic is likely to end globally. The world needs to do better - not only for this Covid-19 pandemic but more importantly, even for future pandemics.
Now more than ever the world needs to be more strategic and global in approach and as well as in principle. Vaccine nationalism as has been observed through this pandemic can not justify the countless lost lives that could otherwise have been saved. We simply need to do better!
Those of us who gave our all during the Ebola outbreak and survived it know that we cannot let our guard down. No one is safe until everyone is safe.
As we learned through the Ebola pandemic, poverty and geography should not be the determinants of access to life-saving vaccines. Vaccines and medicines should be available to all those who most immediately need them, with an emphasis on the ability to save lives. If we don’t have global vaccine access for COVID-19 (and potential future pandemics), billions of lives around the world and especially those in low and medium income countries (“LMICs”) could needlessly be lost. It is the responsibility of all countries, rich and poor, to contribute to both the current pandemic and towards future pandemic preparedness and ensure vaccines are distributed equitably within and across countries.
We, the undersigned, ask that the World Health Organisation schedule on the agenda for its World Health Assembly meeting this November a vote on each of the following items:
That each country endorse the following ethical standard for pandemic preparedness:
Immediate Sharing Strategy: All countries that have vaccine doses with WHO Emergency Use Listing in excess of their immediate needs should immediately donate these doses to the COVAX platform, regional organizations such as Africa CDC and directly to countries in need. All recipients should commit to guarantee an equitable and fair distribution and access of the vaccines within the respective countries.
Future Goal: Global pandemic preparedness policy shall be directed towards the goal of vaccinating 70% of the world's population within the first year of a pandemic.
Preparation: WHO should set up an international, independent publicly funded permanent successor to the COVAX facility that would purchase and distribute diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines in the event of a pandemic.
Commitment: All G20 countries should commit to collectively donating at least $10 billion each year to the permanent COVAX successor for use in future pandemics.
Local Contribution: All pharmaceutical companies and other vaccine producing organizations should set up vaccine development capacity in some LMICs, and LMICs should contribute to pandemic research and preparation efforts.
As veterans of the Ebola response and their supporters, we urge all countries to endorse immediate action for global vaccine equity.
Sincerely,
Signatories listed below. Institutional affiliations for identification purposes only on individual signatures.
[Veterans of the Ebola Response - Signatories
Nahid Bhadelia, Infectious Diseases Physician, Medical Director, Special Pathogens Unit, Boston University School of Medicine
George A. Conway, Health Director, Deschutes County. Senior Medical Officer and Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Janice Cooper, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, Government of Netherlands
Dahn Bernice, Deputy Minister, Liberia Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
Piet deVries, Independent Consultant, Sante Bueno Consulting. Country Director and Chief of Party, Global Communities Liberia Country
Boubacar Diallo, Consultant, World Health Organization
Ngozi Erondu, Senior Scholar, Georgetown University. Associate Fellow, Chatham House
Mosoka Fallah, Ebola Emergency-Response Program Manager, Action Contre la Faim. Masters of Public Health, Global Health, Harvard School of Public Health
William Fischer, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina School School of Medicine
Alison Galvani, Director, Center for Infectious Disease Modeling and Analysis. Burnett and Stender Families Professor of Epidemiology, Yale School Of Public Health
Wahdae-Mai Harmon, Founding member and President, Life Saving Initiative. Medical Doctor at Ministry of Health
Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. Consultant, World Health Organization
Jia Kangbai, PhD Medical Research-International Health candidate, Njala University
Dan Kelly, Founder, Wellbody Alliance. Global Health Fellowship in Sierra Leone. Co-lead, Ebola Virus Diagnostic Trials
Stephen B. Kennedy , Co-Principal Investigator, Ebola Virus Disease Vaccine Trial
Raoul Kamanda, National Director, National Communication Program for Health Promotion, PNCPS, Ministry of Public Health
Moses Soka, Research Physician, Partnership for Ebola Virus Disease Research in Liberia (PREVAIL)
Doumbia Moussa, Vaccine Clinical Researcher at Center for Vaccine Development–Mali
Ashoka Mukpo, Photojournalist, NBC
Davison Munodawafa, Professor of Community Medicine, Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe.
Polydor Mutombo, Public Health Officer, Department of Health & Human Services, Victoria, Australia
Helena Nordenstedt, Associate Professor of Global Health, Karolinska Institutet. Head of Research, Gapminder
Patricia Omidian, Co-Director, Focusing Initiatives International. Consultant, World Health Organization
Eugene Thomas Richardson, Consultant, African Centre for Disease Control. Chair, Lancet Commission on Reparations and Redistributive Justice
Agneta Rosling, Psychiatrist, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden.
Samai Mohamed, Principal Investigator, Ebola Virus Disease Vaccine Trial
Laura Skrip, Co-Founder, Quantitative Data for Decision Making. Instructor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Master of Public Health Program University of Liberia
Spencer Craig, Director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine, New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center
Johan Von Schreeb, Professor in Global Disaster Medicine, Karolinska Institutet
David A. Wohl, Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina School School of Medicine
Udo Schuklenk, Ontario Research Chair in Bioethics, Joint Editor-in-Chief of Bioethics, Consultant for MSF on medical interventions during Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia
Other Signatories
Stephen Agbenyo, Development Communicationist, Executive Director, Savana Signatures, 1Day Sooner's African Chapter Oversight Committee Member
Fernando Aith, Full Professor, University of São Paulo Public Health School
Harris Sayed Ali, Professor, York University
Thalia Arawi, Founding Director of the Salim El-Hoss, Bioethicist, Professionalism Program, American University of Beirut Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center.
Fumie Arie, Chief of Ethics Consultation, Education/Training Section, Department of Clinical Research Promotion, Translational Medical Center at National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP)
Vilhjálmur Árnason, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Centre for Ethics, School of Humanities, University of Iceland
Kristine Baroe, Professor, Medical Ethics and Philosophy of Science, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting (BCEPS), University of Bergen
James Balz, Division Chief of Surgery, Sacred Heart Hospital
Kira Banks, Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of Healing Justice, Institute for Healing Justice and Equity, Saint Louis University
Sunny Bates, Consultant Human Vaccines Project. Co-Founder, Sudden Compass
John Berestecky, Professor, Microbiology, Kapiolani Community College
Subbarao Bondada, Professor, Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky
Thomas Bossert, Director, International Health Systems Program, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Danah Boyd, Partner Researcher, Microsoft Research. Founder, Data & Society
Lori Bruce, Associate Director, Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Yale University
Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, Bioethicist, Professor, Philosophy, Gallaudet University
Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography, Global Health and Population, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
Jason T. Eberl, Director, Professor, Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University
Jonas Ecke, Humanities and Social Science Department, Ashesi University, Accra.
Lisa Eckenwiler, Professor, Department of Health Administration and Policy, Former Director of Health Ethics at George Mason University. Vice-President, International Association of Bioethics
Dennis A. Emmet, Founding Director, Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research. University Professor, Rutgers. Professor, University of Liberia’s A. M. Dogliotti College of Medicine
Helen Epstein, Renowned Journalist, Author
Nir Eyal, Director, Rutgers Center for Population-Level Bioethics. Henry Rutgers Professor, Bioethics, Rutgers University
Ezekiel Emanuel, Co-Director, Healthcare Transformation Institute, Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, University of Pennsylvania. Professor, Health Care Management, Wharton University of Pennsylvania. Professor, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine
Kate Fernandez, Researcher, Monash University
Octávio Luiz Motta Ferraz, Co-director, Transnational Law Institute, King's College London. Author, Health as a Human Right (CUP, 2020). Co-Principal Investigator, Lex Atlas COVID-19
Thorsten Galert, Research Officer, Geschäftsstelle des Deutschen Ethikrates/German Ethics Council
Axel Gosseries, Professor, Hoover Chair, University of Louvain. Franz Weyr Fellow, Czech Academy of Science.
Marcia Grant, International Keynote Speaker, OYSIA Interaction Training & Coaching for Teams and Individuals. Manager of Educational Institutions, Provost, The American University of Paris, Ashesi University
Trisha Greenhalgh, Co-Director, Interdisciplinary Research In Health Sciences (IRIHS). Programme Director, Masters of Science & Doctor of Philosophy, Translational Health Sciences. Professor of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford
Nicole Hassoun, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Binghampton University, Visiting Scholar - Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Cornell University
Meg Hastings, Director of Administration and Facilities, Harvard Forest
Jessica Healey, Acting Health Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Andrew Henderson, Professor, Medicine, Microbiology, School of Medicine, Boston University
David J. Hunter, Professor, Medicine, Vincent L. Gregory Professor of Cancer Prevention, Emeritus, Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Samia Hurst-Majno, Director, Professor of Bioethics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Nancy S. Jecker, Professor, Bioethics and Humanities, University of Washington School of Medicine and Fulbright U.S. Scholar for South Africa (2020-2021)
Mats Johansson, Lecturer, Medical Ethics, Lund University
Amber Johnson, Co- Founder, Founder, Institute for Healing Justice and Equity, The Justice Fleet. Professor, Department of Communication, Saint Louis University
Zacharia Kafuko, Molecular Biochemist, Mandela Washingon Fellow, 1Day Africa Manager - 1Day Sooner
Roger H. Keil , Professor, York University
Maureen Kelley, Professor of Bioethics, Wellcome Senior Investigator; The Ethox Centre, Wellcome Centre for Ethics & Humanities, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford
Benjamin Krohmal, Acting Director, John J. Lynch, MD Center for Ethics. Bioethicist, MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Assistant Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine
Mark Kuczewski, Director, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy. Professor of Medical Ethics, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine
Adele Langlois, Associate Professor International Relations in the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln
Stephen R. Latham, Director of Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, a program of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University
Zohar Lederman, Rambam Healthcare Campus, Rambam Medical Campus, Ha'alyia Haashnia 8, Haifa. Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore
Panthea Lee, Executive Director, Reboot. Member & Advisor, Innovative Citizen Participation Network
Ketty Mwansa Lubeya, Chief Executive officer and Co-Founder for the Young Emerging Scientists Zambia. Mandela Washington Fellow
Tamra Lysaght, Assistant Professor, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Long Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Joseph M. Macarthy, Executive Director, Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC). Lecturer, IGDS, Njala University
Ignacio Mastroleo, Director, BioThera Research Institute for Philosophy of Translational Medicine. Chief of Lecturers, Ethics, Department of Philosophy, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Researcher, CONICE, Program of Bioethics, FLACSO Argentina
Jeanine Abrams McLean, Vice President, Fair Count. Former Biologist, Centers for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Rebekah McWhirter, Senior Lecturer, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University
Thaddeus Metz, Professor of Philosophy, University of Pretoria. Author
Gregg Mitman, Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jonathan D. Moreno, David & Lyn Silfen University Professor, Professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, History & Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania
Joshua Morrison, Founder - Waitlist Zero, Executive Director - 1Day Sooner
Ole F. Norheim, Professor, University of Bergen, Norway
Robtel Neajai Pailey, Assistant Professor, The London School of Economics and Political Science
Allison Plyer, Chief Demographer, The Data Center in New Orleans
Renzong Qiu, Director of the Programme in Bioethics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Emeritus, Institute of Philosophy
Danielle Hanna Rached, Assistant Professor, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Law School, Rio de Janeiro
Lisa Marie Rasmussen, Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty Fellow, The Graduate School, University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Vardit Ravitsky, Professor, Bioethics Program Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, University of Montreal Senior. Lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Nathaniel Raymond, Lecturer, Yale School of Public Health, Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, Yale University
Gary Rieschel, Founder, Qiming Venture Partners
Rudi Rocha, Head of Research of the Instituto de Estudos para Políticas de Saúde (IEPS). Professor, Fundação Getúlio Vargas School of Business Administration (FGV EAESP)
Jeremy Rossman, Senior Lecturer in Virology, School of Biosciences, University of Kent. President, Research-Aid Networks.
Owen G. Schaefer, Assistant Professor, Centre for Biomedical Ethics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Udo Schuklenk, Ontario Research Chair, Joint Editor-in-Chief, Bioethics, Queen's University. Consultant, Médecins Sans Frontières
Mark Shrime, Chair of Global Surgery, Professor, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Lecturer, Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Peter Singer, Professor of Bioethics, Princeton University, USA
David Smith, Associate Professor, Healthcare Ethics, MSc Director, Healthcare Ethics and Law, Royal College of Surgeon, Ireland
Robert Streiffer, Professor of Philosophy, Bioethics, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Supriya Subramani, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine, University of Zurich
Godfrey Tangwa, Bioethicist, Cameroon Bioethics Initiative (CAMBIN). Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon
Oyewale Tomori, Former Regional Virologist, WHO Africa Region (1994-2004), President, Nigerian Academy of Science. (2013-2017)
Karina Ordoñez Torres, Academic Coordinator, Institute of Bioethics, Universidad Finis Terrae, Chile
Simon Marot Toulong, Youth Activist, Co-founder/Team Leader, African Youth Action Network (AYAN)
Emma Tumilty, Bioethicist, Lecturer, Health Ethics, Law and Professionalism, School of Medicine, Deakin University
Samuel Vaillancourt, Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital. Associate Scientist, Quality Improvement Lead, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Daniel Wei Liang Wang, Professor of Law, Fundação Getúlio Vargas Sao Paulo
Tricia Wang, Global Tech Ethnographer, Sudden Compass
Alan Jay Weisbard, Emeritus Professor of Law, Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Daniel Wikler, Mary B. Saltonstall Professor, Population Ethics, Ethics and Population Health, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. First Staff Ethicist, World Health Organization (1999-2001)
Angene Wilson, Peace Corps Volunteer, West Africa. Author & Professor Emeritus of Education, University of Kentucky
XinQi Dong, Director, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Population Health Epidemiologist and Geriatrician
Melaku Tekle Zengeta, Executive Director, Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD). Mandela Washington Fellow]