WTO chief hopes to seal IP waivers for COVID vaccines

World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday said she was pushing for member-countries to reach an agreement of sorts by July and deliver a final outcome on the intellectual property (IP) waivers for COVID-19 vaccines at the body’s next ministerial council meeting in December this year.
“There are times when we can’t afford to take months and years… We are talking about lives being lost. Someone told me I am very ambitious. Yes, I am very ambitious when there are lives,” she said, emphasising the urgency to arrive at a swift pact on the intellectual property waivers needed to vaccinate the world faster.