People’s Health Movement

Sri Lanka
Advisory Committee
Menu Nilukshika
Nishantha Preethiraj

Editors
Indrachapa Ruberu
Nivanka Mohotty
Minoli De Silva

Page Setting & Art Work

Minoli De Silva

Contact

Sirimal Peiris
sirimalp@sltnet.lk

Please note that the ownership/responsibility belongs to the respective writers

of each article.
Your ideas, comments and articles for the future editions are warmly
welcomed. Please write to us, to the following email address, sirimalp@sltnet.lk
Let us win together with humanity.
COUNTRY REPORT OF PEOPLE’S HEALTH MOVEMENT – SRI LANKA (PHM SL)

PHM SL works on full voluntary basis without any office bearers and bank accounts. We have only a
Convenor namely, Ms Menu Nilukshika de Silva. (Her Email address is: menu_cma@yahoo.com &
Contact No. +94767295150). who usually calls up meetings.
Dr Vinya Ariyaratne, President of the Sarvodaya Movement provides all logistical facilities for the
Monthly Meetings, Publishing of leaflets, posters etc. and requirements for other activities. PHM – SL is
a network of 40 organizations and some keen individuals who are ready to protect the health rights of
the people of Sri Lanka. PHM SL is recognized as a member of Open Government Partnership (OGP).
Indra Cancer Trust Fund is willing to bring in a Patients’ Rights Declaration and PHM SL has had
discussions with them and hopes to move forward.

COVID 19 PANDEMIC
PHM SL had a couple of monthly meetings on zoom and also had physical meetings during the Covid 19
pandemic. It is notable that all our member organizations are working closely with quarantine people
and camps for quarantine people. Necessary food items and other requirements are being distributed
to these people. Sarvodaya Movement is giving a big helping hand for these activities.

HEALTH EDUCATION
Necessary health education activities also have been started. Email and Face Book messages are
disseminated. Sarvodaya Movement has launched a special community education programme as
“Suvodaya Programme”. Some of our member organizations held educational programmes with
Suvaodaya. Dr Vinya Ariyaratne and Professor Manuj Weerasinghe has held many programmes on the
TV and on zoom for the benefit of the public and they have taken all necessary measures to protect the
patients’ rights. PHM SL is trying to build up opinion leaders for controlling Covid 19.

HEALTH RIGHTS CAMPAIGN

We are continuously campaigning for health rights. Presently Hon. Minister of Water & Sanitation, Mr
Vasudeva Nanaykkara (long term active member of PHM – SL) has undertaken to hold a meeting with
Members of Parliament in order to bring in a Motion at the Sri Lanka Parliament to include Health Rights
to the Sri Lanka Constitution. At present, we are continuing with the required activities.

PUBLICATIONS
PHM – SL has published 03 Magazines for the year 2020. Our Members are keen in continuing this
activity in the future as well.

TRAINING PROGRAMMES & ASSEMBLIES

12 members of PHM – SL participated at the PHM Assembly in Daka. One member participated at the
IPHU Training in Nepal.

We are pleased to mention that we are happy about the progress made during the year 2020 amidst the
difficulties encountered due to the Covid 19 Pandemic.

PEOPLE’S HEALTH MOVEMENT

SRI LANKA
January 2021
 IP, Vaccine Imperialism Cause Death and Suffering, Delay Recovery

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Vaccine developers’ refusal to share publicly funded vaccine research findings is stalling broader,
affordable vaccinations which would more rapidly contain COVID-19 contagion. The pandemic had
infected at least 109 million people worldwide, causing over 2.4 million deaths as of mid-February.

Avoidable delays in preventive vaccination are imposing terrible burdens on the world economy and
human welfare, with economic disruption demanding more relief and recovery measures. They have
cost US$28 trillion in lost output globally, with developed countries contracting by 7% in 2020.

Avoidable vaccination delays

National capacities to cope with the pandemic have been largely determined by means and power.
Thus, access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, personal protective equipment and other pandemic
supplies has been severely lacking in most African and other poor countries.

At current vaccination rates, it would take “not one or two years, but six years” to reach 75% global
coverage, currently considered the minimum to achieve ‘herd immunity’ against COVID-19.

Patent protections, vaccine production constraints and the rich country scramble will deprive more
than 85 poor countries of public access to vaccines before 2023. As of 5 February, not a single dose
had been administered in 130 countries with 2.5 billion people.

Of the more than 131 million doses available by 8 February, the US, China, the EU and the UK had
78%, while Africa had 0.2%! Meanwhile, the African Union has only ordered less than half of what it
needs to reach herd immunity, i.e., just 670 million doses. Meanwhile, besides Brazil, other Latin
American countries only have 150 million doses for less than a quarter of their population.

Supply shortfalls
By the end of 2021, total global capacity of the 13 leading COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers would
still be well short of the needs of the world’s almost 7.7 billion people. Even if they all produce at
maximum capacity, a fifth of the world’s population would not have access until 2022.

Rich countries continue to oppose the South African-Indian proposal to temporarily suspend relevant
provisions of the 1994 World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to effectively block rapid scaling up of generic vaccine production.

The resulting “catastrophic moral failure” is thus mainly due to vaccine suppliers’ profit
maximisation, also limiting supplies and access. Meanwhile, rich countries’ grossly excessive vaccine
purchases can vaccinate their residents several times over.

The US will soon have enough to vaccinate its population twice over, while Canada and Australia
have booked enough to protect residents several times over. Exceptionally, New Zealand – which has
also ordered several times its population’s needs – plans to freely share vaccines with its Pacific
island neighbours.

Manufactured scarcity and prices

Global needs now greatly exceed available supply. Middle-income countries have joined the
scramble, making onerous direct deals with vaccine suppliers, typically on worse terms than if they
had bargained collectively. Unsurprisingly, vaccine prices vary considerably, by more than 12-fold,
from US$6 to US$74 per dose.
As countries have not published contract details, acceding to vaccine suppliers’ terms, lack of
transparency has enabled abuses. And when forced to comply with Freedom of Information Act
requests, documents are heavily redacted before release.

Such limited transparency enables ‘vaccine imperialism’ as big power ‘vaccine nationalism’ impairs
others’ access. Thus, following its spat with AstraZeneca, the European Commission (EC) banned vaccine
exports to most countries outside the EU.

Double standards rule

In fact, cross-border enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) is relatively recent. Big Pharma
successfully lobbied their governments for TRIPS inclusion in the 1994 WTO founding documents. This
greatly strengthened and extended IPRs transnationally.

Now, as these non-transparent deals are disputed, European politicians are threatening ‘patent grabs’.
EU President Charles Michel has warned of “urgent measures” demanding compulsory licensing,
provided for by the European Treaty.

This would require vaccine developers to facilitate generic production, which the developing country-
backed TRIPS temporary waiver proposal seeks for all countries. Nevertheless, the EU, other rich
countries and their allies still oppose the request to enable rapid scaling-up of affordable vaccine
supplies.

Publicly financed vaccine development

To accelerate vaccine development, expenses and risks have been mainly borne by governments, rather
than by developers or private finance. The six top candidate vaccine developers have already received
over US$12 billion of public money, sometimes with little to show for it.

Of the more successful, Moderna received US$955 million for research and development plus a
premarket purchase commitment of US$1.53 billion. In Europe, Pfizer/BioNTech got €375 million from
the German government and another €100 million for debt refinancing from the European Investment
Bank.

Yet, despite massive public financing, vaccine developers retain the IP monopoly right to profit. Thus, the
prospect of huge gains from 2021 vaccine sales revenue of almost US$40 billion is delaying progress
against COVID-19.

Greed kills, unless…

AstraZeneca promised Oxford University not to profit off any COVID-19 vaccines “for the duration of the
pandemic”. However, its contracts allow it to declare the pandemic over as early as mid-2021. It could
then charge higher prices for vaccines developed with public money for the university.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was ‘trialed’ on the South African population. Yet, it is paying 2.4 times more
than the EU – US$5.25 compared to US$2.16. This makes a mockery of “benefit-sharing” and priority
“post-trial access” promises. Meanwhile, turning ‘ability to pay’ on its head, Uganda is paying 20% more
than South Africa!

Having the greatest vaccine manufacturing capacity in the world by far, the Serum Institute of India has
several contracts to produce the Astra-Zeneca vaccine for different countries. In India, it will sell 90% to
the government and 10% to the private sector at a higher price.
Waiver can end pandemic
Vaccines produced generically at greater scale will be far more affordable, enabling more rapid
containment of the contagion, infections, deaths and disruptions. Until herd immunity is achieved
nationally and globally, priority in allocation should be on the basis of urgent need, rather than ability to
pay or political muscle.

The best way forward now is the TRIPS waiver proposal, still blocked by rich country governments at the
WTO. It would enable all countries to affordably make or buy ‘generic’ vaccines. This would most
effectively expedite containing the pandemic with the least loss of lives and livelihoods.

https://www.ksjomo.org/post/ip-vaccine-imperialism-cause-death-and-suffering-delay-recovery

http://www.ipsnews.net/2021/02/ip-vaccine-imperialism-cause-death-suffering-delay-recovery/
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Joint petition Submitted By Trade Unions Against The Proposed Port City Bill and
Request Due to Publish these Statements in Your Media.
Banner Shared by PHM - Sri Lanka for the World Health Day
 Statement of Solidarity with People of Palestine
People’s Health Movement (PHM);

(Issued on May 19 th , 2021)

The People’s Health Movement (PHM), a global network of grassroots health activists, civil
society organizations, and academic institutions, strongly condemns the attacks against
Palestinian people by Israeli’s occupying forces and expresses full and unequivocal solidarity
with the Palestinian people.

The recent attempts of Israeli’s occupying forces to expel Palestinian residents from the Sheikh
Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem is a continuation of the ethnic cleansing frequently
committed by the Israeli occupying forces. These attempts violate the principles of
international humanitarian law contained in the Geneva Convention that prohibits eviction
and displacement of populations in occupied territories. Palestinian and international human
rights organisations have widely denounced the unwillingness of the Israeli’s occupying forces
to comply with UN guidelines and international regulatory provisions. Several human rights
organizations, including Israeli groups, have been recognizing and criticising the apartheid
nature of the Israeli’s occupying forces.

According to PHM-affiliated local health groups and activists, the attacks of the Israeli’s
occupying forces on the Gaza Strip are targeting civilians in all residential areas using the
heaviest and fiercest military machinery, including military aircrafts, artillery, and tanks. The
majority of the Palestinians affected by these strikes are unarmed civilians, especially since the
missiles directed by the warplanes target the homes of civilians in residential areas and
residential towers. On the night of May 15, two respected doctors were killed together with
their families when their homes were bombarded. We pay the highest respect to Dr. Ayman
Abu al-Ouf, the head of the internal medicine department at Shifa Hospital, and Dr. Moen al-
Aloul, who worked as a psychiatrist for the Ministry of Health before his retirement.

The escalation of violence by Israeli’s occupying forces comes when the people of Palestine are
grappling with the burden of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the Geneva Convention,
Israeli’s occupying forces must provide healthcare, including vaccines, to Palestinians as an
occupying power. Up until May 15, nearly 62% of Israelis had received at least one shot of
Covid-19 vaccine versus only 5.3% in Palestinians. We condemn these deplorable actions (by
commission and omission) that are incontrovertibly against humanity and the Palestinian
people. We demand that the Palestinian people are given access to Covid 19 vaccines,
treatment, and health care urgently.

We demand the international community, including all UN entities, to:

 Put pressure on the Israeli occupying forces to immediately stop their attacks on
Palestinians and stop the displacement of Palestinian families from their homes and
lands and ultimately to end its occupation of Palestine..

 Act on its responsibility mandated by several international treaties to safeguard the

health rights of Palestinians and condemn the increased inequity in health that the
pandemic response of the Israeli government has caused.
  Stop accepting the flimsy excuses under the pretext of self-defense made bythe Israeli’s
occupying forces when they kill protected civilians and bomb their homes with artillery

We call upon people worldwide to put pressure on their governments to stop all forms of
support to Israeli’s occupying forces, especially arms exports.

We call on the authorities, UN and other Human Rights Bodies/Agencies, civil society
organizations, and people around the world to denounce crimes of Israeli’s occupying forces
against humanity in Palestine and support the Palestinian people’s struggle to ensure that they
can live in peace on their land, the State of Palestine, with Jerusalem as its capital.

PHM decries the severe forms of aggression and injustice unleashed by the racist regime of
Israeli occupying forces against the Palestinian people.

PHM believes that peace and justice are social determinants of health.

PHM stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle for existence and their
land. We are one with our colleagues, health professionals, health and human rights activists
on the ground and celebrate their strength and courage.

We cherish and salute the Palestinian people’s resistance and resilience.

May this day come soon to the whole world!