BRICS joins India against blocking Covid-19 vaccine raw materials

The BRICS ministers noted that the current global challenges were a reminder of the imperative to strengthen cooperation amongst the nations

China, Russia, South Africa and Brazil on Tuesday joined India in calling upon all nations to refrain from blocking flow of raw materials required to make anti-Covid-19 vaccines and drugs as well as other equipment required to contain the pandemic.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar chaired a virtual meeting of the BRICS (a bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) foreign ministers. They called for “exercise of due restraint in the implementation of measures that could hinder the flow of vaccines, health products and essential inputs”.

The BRICS also extended its support to the proposal mooted by two members of the bloc – India and South Africa – at the World Trade Organization for a temporary patent waiver on the anti-Covid-19 vaccines and drugs. This is the first time that the five-nation-bloc formally backed the proposal, which also received support from the United States last month.

The BRICS ministers noted that the current global challenges, particularly the Covid-19 pandemic, were a powerful reminder of the imperative to strengthen cooperation amongst the nations. They acknowledged the measures taken by the World Health Organization (WHO), governments, non-profit organisations, academia, business and industry in combating the pandemic. But they also noted their expectation that the international community would reform and strengthen policy responses of the WHO to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and other current and future health challenges.

The BRICS ministers recognised the role of extensive immunisation against the Covid-19 as a global public good for health in preventing, containing and stopping transmission to bring the pandemic to an end and foster a rapid, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient recovery. They underlined the urgency for expeditious development and deployment of the Covid-19 vaccines, especially in developing countries, and called for further close cooperation between various stakeholders for a diversified vaccine portfolio.

The Biden Administration earlier this year invoked the US Defence Production Act (DPA) to impose restrictions on export of some raw materials required for production of the anti-Covid-19 vaccines. The move was aimed at ramping up production and increasing availability of the vaccines in the US. But it also slowed down production of the vaccines in India.

The US, however, a few weeks ago eased the restrictions for export of some raw materials to India.

The call by the BRICS foreign ministers on Tuesday for uninterrupted supply of vaccines and raw materials required to make vaccines was apparently intended to send out a tacit message to the US.

The joint statement issued by Jaishankar, Sergey Lavrov of Russia, Wang Yi of China, Carlos Alberto Franco França of Brazil and Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor of South Africa stressed the need to promote initiatives aimed at ensuring timely, affordable, and equitable access, as well as the distribution of diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines, and essential health products and technologies, and their components, as well as equipment to combat Covid-19 pandemic and to support the achievement of universal health coverage including preventive measures and actions.