“Health as a common good”, the campaign: “MEPs have taken a clear position in favor of public scientific research”

ROME – In the coming weeks, the European Parliament will vote on Report on lessons learned from the pandemic of Covid-19 and on the revision of the drug legislation. The Inequalities and Diversity Forum launches a campaign to support the creation of an autonomous and non-profit European public infrastructure for the development of new medicines and vaccines. Today the COVI special commission of the European Parliament is called to vote on the amendments to Report on lessons learned from the pandemic of Covid-19 and on the lessons for the future. MEPs will have to express themselves on the management of this global health emergency by the European institutions and on their relationship with private pharmaceutical companies in the production of vaccines. The debate within the Commission has been very heated and over 3,000 amendments have been presented by the parliamentarians who are part of it.

Orient research towards the public interest. On the occasion of this appointment, the Inequalities and Diversity Forum launch the campaign with a video “Health common good” which will last until the vote of Relationship in plenary (which will take place approximately on 10 July), to bring to the attention of MEPs the urgency of focusing research more on the public interest and at the same time sensitize all citizens on such a crucial issue, inviting them to write to their representatives and to sign a petition.

The documentary. For the campaign”Health common good” of the Inequalities and Diversity Forum.

WATCH THE VIDEO

An independent study. Strengthening this campaign are the results of the independent study drawn up at the request of the European Parliament by Massimo Florio and Simona Gamba (University of Milan) and by Chiara Pancotti (CSIL), which with an unedited estimate highlighted how the financial risk for the creation of the vaccines was assumed above all by taxpayers (30 billion in all of public funds at risk) more than by the pharmaceutical industry (16 billion in all) which then sold them at monopolistic prices, weighing on the public coffers up to ten times the cost of production.

The ban on producing vaccines. The great risk assumed by the States compared to that of the companies has not been matched by a right of co-ownership of the knowledge produced. This has meant not allowing third parties to produce the vaccines to allow action to be taken anywhere and as quickly as possible to stem the pandemic and a high expense for the purchase of vaccines which has weighed heavily on the coffers of national health systems. However, even today, after more than 190,000 deaths from Covid 19 in Italy alone, Europe has not yet equipped itself to face the next epidemic. Yet a different path is possible. We need a radical political choice such as that of creating an autonomous and non-profit European public infrastructure for the development of new drugs and vaccines.

The difficult fight against pharmaceutical monopolies. A proposal also endorsed by some members of Parliament who presented amendments to the text of the COVI Report, and which the Inequalities and Diversity Forum first launched in Relationship “15 Proposals for Social Justice” of 2019 and which is now relaunching with the campaign “Health common good”. Indeed, even before the pandemic it was clear that a European public company capable of counterbalancing the large private technological monopolies in a sector such as health, where the urgency of ensuring social justice is of the utmost importance, was necessary.

The petition to sign. After the June 12 vote, the Relationship it will arrive in the plenary session of the European Parliament Furthermore, the European Parliament will later have to pronounce itself on the revision of the drug legislation. For this reason, in addition to broadcasting the video, the Inequality and Diversity Forum sent a letter to all Italian MEPs asking each one to commit to supporting the proposal. To support the campaign, all citizens can also sign the petition “A European infrastructure for vaccines, medicines and biomedical innovation” which has already received the signature of important personalities and associations who have been committed for years to the right to public health.