'Brazil: The Juridical State' - Review of Amaka Vanni's Patent Games in the Global South

A central point highlighted in Vanni's analysis comes in the title of the chapter itself, “the Juridical State”. Brazil's social and political conflicts are for the most part moderated, and often even defined, by the role of courts. Hence, this centrality of the Judiciary in legal-political disputes is an unavoidable aspect of the analysis (and particularly as this was perhaps not always the case in the country's history). In IP and health policy, the influence of the Judiciary is crucial, where certain courts may take decisions on the validity of pharmaceutical patents - directly affecting conditions of competition and access to medicines - and superior courts may decide upon the constitutionality of aspects of laws and regulations that may either legitimize or fully impede the implementation of public health policies in IP matters.

Patent Games in the Global South: Pharmaceutical Patent Law-Making in Brazil, India and Nigeria (Oxford: Hart, 2020) ISBN, HB: 9781509927395, 240 pp.

In light of the current global health crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant discussions on the importance of pharmaceutical patents to our daily existence, the analyses in this book (and the symposium) performs an important function in documenting the role of different sets of actors and their influences on the domestic implementation of global patent rules, access to medicines, and how these (in)actions led us to where we are today.

Call for Applications: Chief of Staff, Jetstream

Jetstream’s vision is to deliver a frictionless cross-border logistics experience to businesses in the fastest growing economies in the world. Our product is an e-logistics operating system that breaks through silos in logistics verticals, and streamlines distribution of trade support services like finance and insurance, for businesses that will define the next generation of African trade

COVID-19, Climate and Clean Fuel: Charting a path for Africa’s Inclusive Green Economic Recovery

As the TCP clean fuel case study demonstrates, an intersectional approach is needed in order to address the pre-existing issues of climate change and income and gender inequality and the manifold impacts of the pandemic on health, wealth and stability of nations across the African continent. One approach with a lot of potential is to support private sector development by encouraging collaboration between the public, NGOs and private sectors as demonstrated by TCP’s clean fuel initiative.

Reflections on the Current Reality of Africa’s debt landscape

The Covid19 pandemic has thus far had an unprecedented and devastating social, economic and health impact globally. It has recast the spotlight on debt sustainability, default and sovereign debt restructuring. For African countries, a pertinent question today is—what will be the impact of the pandemic on debt repayment and what are the new debt service initiatives that may be required (including debt relief, restructuring and other measures)?