18: Equitable access to essential health technologies during global health emergencies: a sub-Saharan African perspective

Overview & Synopsis

Global health emergencies caused by infectious diseases require rapid development of essential technologies to curb the spread of infections in an interconnected world. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the mobilisation of global stakeholders and resources to ensure the rapid development of essential health technologies in a bid to stop the spread of the virus. However, the global response to the health emergency faltered due to nationalism, leading to inequitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and other essential products. Low- and middle-income countries were disproportionately affected, thus bringing into question the effectiveness of the international legal frameworks in ensuring equitable access to essential health technologies. This chapter assesses the adequacy of the international legal frameworks in ensuring equitable access to essential health technologies during global health emergencies. Using sub-Saharan Africa as an example of a region which has experienced inequitable access to essential health technologies, it proposes an ethical-legal framework based on the principles of global solidarity, fairness, and justice to create synergies in the application of ethical principles and international legal frameworks.