Johannesburg - The Health Justice Initiative (HJI) is taking the minister of health and the Department of Health to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, for an order of instruction to disclose records concerning the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines by the National Department of Health.
The initiative seeks to access the vaccine procurement contracts concluded with vaccine manufacturers and suppliers and the records of negotiations with those parties.
According to the initiative, by June 2023, more than 38 million Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered in South Africa, having received several million vaccine doses by directly buying from pharmaceutical companies, through the Covax facility, and by donations. However, the content of these agreements, including the complete details of the contracting parties, is unknown and remains a secret.
The actual cost has not been disclosed, although the 2021 National Budget allocated an amount of R10 billion for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines.
Head of the HJI, Fatima Hassan, says there is a heightened need for transparency and accountability, especially during a national disaster, where several of the usual checks and balances are limited.
“Disclosure is even more important in the health sector following serious allegations that globally, powerful pharmaceutical companies bullied countries into signing secret contracts at the time, and locally, that corruption has diverted millions of rand away from Covid-19 relief measures and other health services,” said Hassan.
Hassan said that now more than ever, especially under NHI, the procurement of public goods using public funds includes the highest levels of contractual transparency too.
“The public has a right to know what our government agreed to, when and with whom, at what price, and of course, why. These companies should not try to distort our democracy by insisting on this type of secrecy”" added Hassan.
The Department of Health has argued in its legal papers that it cannot make the contracts public because it is bound by confidentiality clauses that preclude disclosure and that disclosure “would prejudice it and the vaccine manufacturers in future engagements”. The Department of Health contends that its non-disclosure is lawful and that it is not required to disclose this information.
“Essentially, our government traded secrecy for scarce supplies at the behest of very powerful vaccine manufacturers and intermediaries, who made huge profits on sales. Our government should stand up to these companies. By agreeing to these onerous non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), our government is enabling secrecy that only pharma companies benefit from,” added Hassan.
She said that she hoped that the case would set a clear precedent for future pandemics and, under NHI too, that public procurement information should not be kept secret.
“We hope it places a spotlight on the factors that enable contractual secrecy to ensure vaccine and other manufacturers stop trading lifesaving medicines and vaccines for secrecy and power,” added Hassan.
Spokesperson for the National Department of Health, Foster Mohale, said that the department will only respond after the matter has been heard in court.
“We don’t want to pre-empt the court’s outcomes,” he said.
The Star