Bangladesh has made a strong call for a temporary waiver from certain Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) obligations for the production of vaccines, medicines and other health technologies to effectively respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing the 74th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) held virtually on May 24-June 1 in Geneva, a Bangladesh delegation, led by Health Minister Zahid Maleque, said the pharmaceutical industries across the developing countries, capable of producing vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other medical equipment, should get licenses as well as technology and technical knowhow to produce the vaccines and health technologies for Covid 19.

Those items should be provided to other developing countries free of cost, The Daily Star reported.

The delegation highlighted the timely and swift actions taken by Bangladesh, including health measures and stimulus packages, to combat the socio-economic impacts posed by the pandemic, according to a statement from Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva.

In addition, Bangladesh called for paying due attention to the need to promote mental health across the globe and ensure sustainable funding for a strong World Health Organization (WHO).

(TRIPS), an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO),  establishes minimum standards for the regulation by national governments of different forms of intellectual property (IP).

TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) between 1989 and 1990.

(SAM)