SOAS Director to host global health and science leaders to discuss COVID-19 vaccine inequality

25 February 2021

SOAS University of London in partnership with the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) is hosting leading figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) for a discussion on vaccination inequality in an interconnected world. They will be joined by the Chief Economics Commenator of the Financial Times and the Director of SOAS for this timely debate on 9 March at 17:00 GMT .

The speakers are the Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization Dr Peter Singer , Director General and CEO of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Dr Segenet Kelemu , Chief Economics Commentator of the Financial Times Martin Wolf CBE who will be in conversation with Professor Adam Habib

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization recently said "vaccine nationalism harms everyone and protects no one”. It is increasingly clear that this pandemic cannot end in the developed world without addressing and ensuring that the citizens of the developing world are also vaccinated.

This public debate - COVID-19: Addressing vaccination inequality in an interconnected world - seeks to provide some focus to the challenges confronting the developing world on vaccines and the nationalist overtones around it. But it will also touch on a broader challenge in our historical moment where all of our discontents are transnational in character and require to be addressed on a global rather than national scale.

As the world implements COVID-19 vaccinations, will countries in the global south have equal access? With a history of healthcare inequalities and enforced vaccine trials, how do we ensure global vaccination is carried out ethically and equally, and encourage governments and societies to act for the greater good? Should countries who have an oversupply of vaccines redistribute these to developing countries who cannot afford the costs of vaccines?

Find out more about the event and the speakers.

The event takes place on 9 March at 17:00 GMT. To attend register via Eventbrite.

Attendees are invited to pre-submitted questions to events@soas.ac.uk.

For further information, contact:

events@soas.ac.uk