JakartaPost-May 1, 2020

As countries and private institutions rush to produce a viable vaccine for COVID-19, concerns over the possible monopoly of drug patents have sparked an international debate on the need to maintain equitable and affordable access to these solutions. Indonesia has made it a point to ensure that multilateral efforts are actively pursuing this objective, its top diplomat said, given how strict access to patented drugs can be under existing norms.

“When a vaccine has been developed or the drugs currently undergoing clinical trials have been acquired, the next question to ask is whether all countries have access to these vaccines and medicine at affordable rates,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters in a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

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