The struggle for cheap and easy access to HIV treatment has been repeated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

This criticism from the coordinator of the AccessIBSA project, comes as pharmaceutical companies are making it difficult for the world’s poor nations to acquire Covid-19 vaccinations.

Achal Prabhala says that the pharmaceutical industry and governments that enable them should be blamed for the spread of the pandemic.

He says that those in power have clung to an unfair model that gives pharmaceuticals the monopoly on healthcare.

This as Pfizer has reported adjusted earnings of more than R 122 billion in November.

This figure is up 133% from last year. The vaccines business had contributed 60% of the company’s sales.

But Prabhala contends that South Africa and India have the international power and legitimacy to disable old norms, and to take bolder actions, but they have not.