Nurses unions blame EU, 4 countries for Covid deaths – The New Indian Express

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By express news service

A coalition of unions representing more than 2.5 million nurses from 28 countries has accused the EU, UK, Norway, Switzerland and Singapore of human rights violations for blocking a temporary waiver of intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies which they claim have ensured more equitable distribution of vaccines.

In a complaint to Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations special rapporteur on physical and mental health, nurses said that “these countries have violated our rights and the rights of our patients – and caused the loss of countless lives” by “The opposition continues to renounce the WTO agreement on trade-related intellectual property rights … resulting in the violation of the human rights of people around the world.”

More than 45% of the world’s population has still not received a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the nurses unions wrote. “Pharmaceutical companies and governments have failed to ensure that essential treatments and vaccines are distributed fairly in order to respond to the pandemic,” the complaint said. Responding to the complaint, Mofokeng said, “The main demand from nurses is one that I share: States have a collective responsibility to use all available means to facilitate faster access to vaccines, including by introducing a temporary waiver of vaccines. intellectual property rights relevant under the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), ”she said.

The nurses unions were coordinated by Global Nurses United (GNU) and Progressive International (PI), a global coalition of left-wing organizations.

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