Ramaphosa: TRIPS waiver urgent to save millions of lives

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that passing a time-bound, targeted TRIPS waiver on patents on Covid-19 products was urgent to save millions of lives during the pandemic.

“This is not the time just to be uni-dimensionally focused on just profit. This is the time to save lives,” Ramaphosa told an event organised by the World Trade Organisation.

He added that the success of developing countries in combating climate change would require concessional funding to support a just transition.