An alliance of aid and human rights organizations has sharply criticized Minister of Economics Habeck with regard to the corona vaccines. He is accused of breaking a campaign promise.
Munich/Berlin – In the corona virus pandemic*, the pressure on the new traffic light federal government made up of SPD, Greens and FDP* is constantly increasing. After Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD)* was recently accused of reticence on important issues, this time his deputy and Federal Minister of Economics had to put up with critical questions.
Robert Habeck (The Greens): Criticism from the doctors’ alliance with a view to corona vaccines
Specifically: An alliance of aid and human rights organizations sharply criticized Robert Habeck (Die Grünen) in an open letter for allegedly not keeping an election promise with a view to the corona vaccines*. The 20 organizations – including “Amnesty International” and “Doctors Without Borders” – accused the Green politician of not supporting a patent suspension for corona vaccines*. Despite a corresponding campaign announcement.
Most recently, he had instead expressed reluctance on this issue. “We are very disappointed that Federal Minister Habeck changes his mind on such an important issue shortly after he became the responsible minister – on the basis of one-sided and unfounded arguments from the pharmaceutical industry and without speaking to civil society,” said Meike Schwarz, Vaccine distribution expert at Médecins Sans Frontières, quoted.
Vaccines against the corona virus: Manufacturers do not release patents for poorer emerging countries
In May, Habeck spoke out in favor of the initiative by more than 100 poorer member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the letter goes on to say that intellectual property rights to drugs and vaccines against Covid-19 will be suspended for the duration of the pandemic.
In fact, at the beginning of May, the Greens, under their then federal chairman Habeck, called for the patents for corona vaccines to be revoked in favor of emerging and developing countries. “In India, Brazil and Peru, people die every day from Covid-19, also because the urgently needed vaccines are missing,” said Jamila Schäfer, a member of the Bundestag from Munich.
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As the alliance of aid and human rights organizations has now explained, Habeck allegedly allows itself to be harnessed to the arguments of vaccine manufacturers that the production of mRNA vaccines is too complicated and too time-consuming for companies in the Global South. In fact, there are more than 120 vaccine producers in Latin America, Africa and Asia who are able to do this, the alliance writes. Economics Minister Habeck had not yet taken a position on the allegations as of Thursday evening (February 3). (pm) *Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
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