Non-profit groups tell WTO to reverse 'vaccine apartheid' before any meeting

More than 130 civil society groups largely from developing countries are calling for the World Trade Organization to cancel a ministerial conference next week and instead concentrate on approving an intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines. The groups, organized under a loose coalition called 'Our World is Not For Sale,' said in a letter on Wednesday to WTO members that 'vaccine apartheid' caused by WTO intellectual property rules must be resolved first. The meeting would otherwise 'lack any pretence of legitimacy,' especially when some ministers may not be able to travel to Geneva, it said.