Mr. Joe Hanly:

It was, and remains, one of the major sticking points in the negotiations. The intellectual property involved is not in the gift of the negotiating teams to negotiate away. It belongs to commercial companies, in the main. I am conscious that there are very complicated and lengthy supply chains and manufacturing chains in producing all the medical counter measures such as vaccines, medicines or even PPE. On how the WHO has come around this or attempted to do so, originally it was looking for technology and know-how transfer at some level to the less developed nations. There are questions around the location of manufacturing facilities in the less-developed countries but there are side or parallel questions around the viability. These are very major investments with a ten- or 20-year lifetime around them. Concerns have been raised that they would be uneconomic. Other ways have been come around to address this. Built into this, and this is still up for negotiation, is that the more developed counties would assist the less developed countries. It is a combination of a direct monetary contribution, which would be administered by the WHO itself.

Then it has sought, or at least put up for discussion, that a percentage of available vaccines or medicines in the country would be given as a donation and another donation might be given at cost, so there would be a cost-neutral supply. That is to enhance or guarantee some level of genuine supply from developed countries to the less developed countries and to help them in developing their health systems and responding to a pandemic.