WHO and Costa Rica Launch Data Platform on Covid-19

By IPS

HAVANA TIMES – Costa Rica and the World Health Organization (WHO) launched on May 29 a platform for governments to gather and share information about the new coronavirus and the effective technologies against it.

The initiative, “Covid-19 Technological Access Platform”, will allow the sharing of data, knowledge and intellectual property among the countries that voluntarily join the initiative, to facilitate equitable access to health products.

More than 30 countries have already announced their support for the initiative, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado announced during a communication with the WHO Director General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The project “will accelerate the pace of science while guaranteeing benefits to all humanity. Vaccines, tests, diagnoses and other key tools in the response to the coronavirus must be universally available,” said Alvarado.

Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “This information-sharing platform will help provide equitable access to life-saving technologies around the world. Global solidarity and collaboration are essential to tackle the pandemic.”

The new database will be freely accessible to participating governments, research institutes and companies to use the knowledge stored there, and they can then contribute experiences and initiatives on how to improve the information acquired.

The first focus of work for the platform will be the public communication of the genetic sequencing data of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes covid-19.

Then, transparency in publishing clinical trial results of procedures, vaccines, treatments, and medications.

Participating governments and financial institutions should agree with research institutes and pharmaceutical companies to publish the results of their clinical trials free of charge.

It is proposed that the license of any potential treatment, vaccine or other technology on the subject should be for the collaborative platform, so that all countries have access to it.

Finally, the platform also aims to promote collaboration between all models of innovation and technology, so that mass production capacity increases and more people can be reached around the world.

Alvarado insisted that the pandemic “attacks all people, regardless of whether they have resources or not, regardless of their citizenship.”

In launching the initiative, Costa Rica and the WHO issued a “call for solidarity action” for States and other interested parties to join the initiative.

Costa Rica reported that they have already received the support of Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Countries Netherlands, Pakistan, Palau, Panama and Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

According to the US Johns Hopkins University, in the world those infected with covid-19 numbered almost six million as of May 29th, and those who’ve died from that cause exceeded 364,000.