Graduate Institute What Matters Today

Covid-19 Vaccine Diplomacy

Episode Summary

The topic of this podcast episode is vaccine diplomacy. The term "vaccine diplomacy" has become more prevalent in the media as the Covid pandemic continues to engulf the globe. Now the world is asking “who maintains the rights to the vaccine patents and how are vaccines distributed and to whom?” But there are a number of intricacies to this sort of diplomacy and it brings to the fore a number of challenges. My guests for this episode are Professors Ilona Kickbusch and Michel Kazatchkine. Professor Ilona Kickbusch is the Founder and Chair of the Graduate Institute’s Global Health Centre and is former Adjunct Professor, Interdisciplinary Programmes at the Institute. Professor Kickbusch is known throughout the world for her expertise and is a sought after senior adviser and keynote speaker. Professor Michel Kazatchkine is a Senior Fellow at the Global Health Centre. Professor Kazatchkine is also a former Executive Director of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria. He has spent the past 30 years fighting AIDS and working to improve global health as a physician, researcher, advocate, policymaker, diplomat and administrator.