Unlocking vaccine access at the STI Forum in 2021
The sixth STI Forum took place from 4 to 5 May 2021. This forum was organized by the UN interagency task team on STI for the SDGs (IATT), convened by UN-DESA and UNCTAD, and the 10-Member Group of high-level representatives appointed by the Secretary General.
The online event on May 3, in relation to the STI Forum, was organised by Fiocruz, the International Science Council and G-STIC.
The global challenge of access to vaccines
Vaccines are among the most cost-effective tools we have for preserving public health and are widely and effectively used to prevent the spread of disease. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization called upon the international scientific society to collaborate under the WHO Research and Development Blueprint, an action which established one of the most successful ever international collaborations in Science, Technology and Innovation.
As result of several institutions accepting this challenge, technologies such as the protocols which led to the development of vaccines and testing for COVID-19 were developed. Technologies which are now helping the world to overcome the current pandemic.
Vaccine challenges in Science, Technology, and Innovation
In this online event, coordinated by Paulo Gadelho (Coordinator of the Fiocruz Strategy for the 2030 Agenda), Heide Hackmann (CEO, International Science Council), Marco Krieger (Vice-President of Production and Innovation in Health, Fiocruz), Stuart Blume (Professor emeritus of science and technology studies, University of Amsterdam), Heidi Larson (Professor of Anthropology, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Mariângela Simão (Assistant Director-General, World Health Organization) discussed the challenges vaccines have brought to Science, Technology and Innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic.