FRANKFURT, Reuters – The lobbying by global drugmakers is for rich nations to finance a supply system that would provide vaccines immediately for low-income countries in the event of a pandemic. However, they said it was dependent on cross-border free trade.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) said in a statement on Monday that global pandemic vaccine distribution needs to be put on a new footing because the world’s poorest countries were forced to wait for shots during the current pandemic.

Thomas Cueni (director general IFPMA) stated, “The industry will reserve an allocation for real-time manufacturing distribution to priority populations of lower income countries as determined by the health authorities during pandemics.”

Global debate is raging about a more effective response to epidemics. This week, the World Health Organization will host a meeting in Geneva where health ministers will discuss vaccine sharing and other topics.

In addition, the G20 nations have agreed to set up a multibillion dollar pandemic preparedness fund that is independent of the WHO.

Cueni stated that the procurement system needed financing from higher-income nations and would only be effective if raw materials can be shipped to other countries without barriers as part of a globalised supply network.

Cueni said, “We will work together with all parties to make sure that future preparedness systems are in place.”

In the third year of the COVID-19 epidemic, trade barriers caused a lot of problems. Among these obstacles was the ban on vaccine exports by India’s key producer for most of 2021. Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Production Act which prioritizes the domestic crisis response slows down global deliveries of equipment to vaccine manufacturers.

COVAX was established to ensure distribution in less developed countries. However, it was overwhelmed by faster procurement efforts of wealthier countries and left behind other countries.

According to lobby group IFPMA, COVAX wasn’t sufficiently financially or organized quickly enough for advance purchase agreements that would have allowed COVAX to buy doses at a level with purchasers from high-income countries.