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The only way to get back to normal is to vaccinate the whole world

May 24, 2021
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As concerns grow that the Indian variant of Covid-19 may plunge us into yet another lockdown, it is time to demand world leaders take seriously the need to vaccinate the whole world asap. Hopefully the vaccinations we have will work against this new variant, but what about the next one, and the potentially thousands of variants after that?

We are facing a catastrophic moral and public health failure akin to the initial and woefully inadequate global response to the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s and 90s by allowing COVID-19 to rip through the world's poorest populations. We simply cannot make the same mistakes that were made in fighting HIV – there must not be a delay in getting lifesaving vaccines to all corners of the globe.

The Biden administration recently took an unprecedented step in supporting a proposal before the World Trade Organisation to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic. If we are to have a real shot at ending the COVID-19 pandemic globally, we must urge our leaders, and pharmaceutical giants to follow suit. If not millions more will die and our dreams to get back to normal will unachievable.

Despite public commitment to equity the UK and EU are amongst the worst COVID 19 vaccine hoarders. The UK is the second largest hoarder in the world according to the latest data on vaccine procurement from Duke Global Health Innovation Centre, having purchased enough vaccine to cover more than four times its population. EU is in the top six having purchased enough vaccine to cover more than twice its population. But this short-sighted nationalism is putting the whole of humanity in danger.

And it's not just poorer countries waiting for vaccines, while writing this from the Netherlands, one of Europe's most prosperous countries, with advanced and efficient healthcare systems, I am tired of hearing endless promises by the government that one day I will be vaccinated. We do not want to hear explanations of why it is impossible to deliver on earlier promises. There is no valid explanation when people's lives are at stake. We want to see real actions from our governments, and we want to get our vaccines now. It is critical that the fundamental right to health protection, which is guaranteed to every EU citizen by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, is actually implemented.

The virus does not recognise or respect borders. The EU and UK are leading efforts to provide developing countries with vaccines via the COVAX initiative. However, the global need for vaccines cannot be satisfied with donations from wealthy countries alone. One important solution is to ensure production of vaccines where the need is greatest: in developing countries. Waiving the intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines held by pharmaceutical giants is key to meeting the growing vaccines demand.

World leaders must firmly agree now to support the temporary waiver of intellectual property rights to produce vaccines, if they are to be on the right side of history at this pivotal moment in time.

Vaccine production is a complex process, consequently all related know-how and technologies as well as the development of qualified cadres must accompany the patents waiver. This is the only way to meet global needs so that we can protect the world against COVID-19. We need close regional cooperation to make this work, and its critical for the UK and EU to lead this process.

Today, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest provider of HIV/AIDS care and treatment globally, is spearheading a worldwide initiative which calls on governments, vaccine manufacturers, and international public health institutions to 'VOW' to protect humanity and provide equal access to COVID-19 vaccines so we can "Vaccinate Our World" (VOW).

Several elements must come into play in order to achieve a balanced, coordinated response and to avoid another public health and social disaster. First, the global COVID-19 vaccination effort must secure $100bn from G20 countries. Second, it must produce and provide seven billion vaccine doses worldwide within one year. Third, companies and governments must waive or suspend all COVID-19 vaccine patents during the pandemic. Fourth, countries must be 100 percent transparent in sharing information and data. Fifth, world leaders must promote far greater international cooperation as the driving force for ending the pandemic, not continue with politics as usual.

Please visit https://vaccinateourworld.org/ to join the VOW campaign, follow its progress, and track achievements in equitable vaccine access.

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Can tech help female entrepreneurs break the bias?

Women founders continue to come up against common challenges and biases
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Written by Kelly Devine, Division President UK & Ireland, Mastercard

Starting a business may have historically been perceived as a man’s game, but this couldn’t be further from reality. Research shows women are actually more likely than men to actively choose to start their own business – often motivated by the desire to be their own boss or to have a better work-life balance and spend more time with their family.

The recently published Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship 2021 found that in the category of 'Aspiration Driven Entrepreneurship’ – capturing those who actively choose to start their own business – women in the UK surpass men: 60% vs 56%. And Mastercard research from February 2022 found 10% of female business owners started their business in the past two years compared to 6% of men – meaning women were 67% more likely to have started a business during the pandemic.

Yet, there are common challenges that women founders continue to come up against - not least the gender imbalance in the household and long-held biases which are still prevalent.

In the UK, women are almost three times more likely to be balancing care and home commitments than men, and this was exacerbated during the pandemic as the additional barriers of school closures and lockdowns meant that the care time of dependents rose significantly on a day-to-day level for women. In addition, women were less likely to have access to a home office, greatly impacting the work they were able to accomplish when working from home was the only option.

It's also widely known that female business owners are still more likely to struggle to access funding for their business ideas. According to Dealroom, all-women founding teams received just 1.4% of the €23.7bn invested into UK start-ups in 2021, while all-male leadership teams have taken almost 90% of the available capital.

Without financial support, and when juggling significant time pressures both at home and at work, how can women grow their companies and #BreaktheBias (as this year’s International Women’s Day termed it)? What tools or support can save them time and money, and give them the headspace they need to focus on building their business?

With female owned businesses collectively estimating revenue growth of £120 billion over the next five years, solving this problem is bigger than supporting women – it’s about supporting the national economy.

Using tech to level the playing field

There are clearly societal issues at play that need to be resolved. But when we look at the rise in technology businesses during the pandemic, we can plainly see an alternative source of support critical for business growth: digital tools.

A third of female business owners say new technologies will be crucial to the success of their business in the future and one in five say it is the most important thing for business growth.

With new technology comes new ways to pay, create, and work. And yet there are barriers that prevent business owners accessing this technology. Women are significantly more likely to say they want to use more digital tools but don’t know what is best for their business and also more concerned about the security of digital tools.

When technology is adopted by businesses – whether using online accounting solutions or messenger services for communicating with staff – it saves them time, allows them to maintain and grow their customer base, and ultimately increases cost savings and profit.

By drastically improving the training and support that is available to women-owned business to access and utilise technology we will allow these businesses to grow and succeed. And we know there is demand for it.

Research done by the IFC and Dalberg shows that female entrepreneurs are more likely to invest time and money in business development. This includes product development, customer base expansion, and digital tools and training and there are plenty of services available offering this type of support – many of them for free.

One such programme is Strive UK – an initiative of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth – which aims to reach 650,000 micro and small business owners across the UK and empower them with the tools they need to thrive in the digital economy through free guidance, helpful tools and one-to-one mentoring.

Working together with small business experts – Enterprise Nation, Be the Business and Digital Boost – we hope to ensure hundreds of thousands of UK female business owners have the tools they need to succeed and reach their ambitious goals. Because this ambition remains strong in the UK, with female business owners largely optimistic about the future despite the multitude of challenges they are facing. Four in ten say they will grow their business in the next five years – compared to only a third of male business owners – and they’re also 35% less likely than men to say they plan to downsize or close the business.

But if we do not empower female entrepreneurs to access the tools and technology they need to grow, there is a risk this optimism could be misplaced. Support programmes that provide business owners with guidance and mentorship can help ensure this isn’t the case, allowing female entrepreneurs to not only survive but thrive in the months and years ahead.