On Thursday 4th march 2021, Médecins Sans Frontières deployed a banner in front of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva calling on certain governments to stop blocking the landmark waiver proposal on intellectual property (IP) during the pandemic. The waiver was originally proposed by India and South Africa in October 2020, and is now officially backed by 58 sponsoring governments, with around 100 countries supporting the proposal overall.

Even after 5 months of deliberations on this landmark proposal, opposing countries continue to stall this key process and delay formal negotiations despite the raging pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, MSF has been calling on pharmaceutical corporations for open sharing of technology and know how to support uninterrupted production and supply of all medical tools needed.

With more than 2.5 million lives already lost to COVID-19, governments cannot afford to waste any more time waiting for voluntary moves by the pharmaceutical industry.

In accordance with the health framework established by the Swiss Confederation to limit the spreading of the Covid_19 virus in Geneva, handful of MSF team members went to the WTO to make its voice heard and that of people whose lives that could be saved by this historic reform.