An action research project examining Canada's ethical obligations for global collective health — using vaccine nationalism as a lens to re-imagine more equitable global governance.
"We cannot eliminate the pandemic in Canada unless we end it everywhere."
— Government of CanadaExamine Canada's ethical obligations for global collective health by leveraging insights from vaccine nationalism and its effects on equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Solidarity for Vaccine Equity · 2024Mapping Canada's policy trajectory through a systematic equity analysis lens — deliberating over evidence and equity-informed recommendations, and re-imagining what governance considerations can and should inform global solutions.
Solidarity for Vaccine Equity · 2024"Health equity means all people have a fair chance to reach their full health potential and are not disadvantaged by social, economic, and environmental conditions." — National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health
Solidarity for Vaccine Equity · 2024Pandemics affect collective global health, fueled by viruses that do not follow rules or recognize national borders. As vaccines became available during the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine nationalism directly contributed to preventable health and economic losses across the world.
Canada's actual policies and actions for global vaccine governance contradicted its rhetoric of global solidarity — revealing an ethical incoherence that continues to shape an inequitable political economy of vaccines.
Recognizing the critical need for cohesive global responses, the SOLVE study looks deeply at how a policy trajectory of vaccine nationalism unfolded. Alongside consideration of ethics and political economy, and using a process of policy analysis and deliberative dialogue, SOLVE offers a platform for learning-driven insights that can inform an evolved global governance for more equitable futures.
Study Design — Four cycles of deliberative dialogue:
SOLVE Study Team (November 2022). Cycle 1 Report — Equity-responsive practices for governance. Synthesis of deliberative dialogue sessions held September 7 & 14, 2022.
SOLVE Study Team (December 2022). Integrating Equity Considerations in a Pandemic Instrument. Report submitted to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body of the World Health Organization.
SOLVE Study Team (Fall 2023). Re-imagining governance for more equitable futures. A synthesis of stakeholder input and analysis of Canada's approach to vaccine governance during the COVID-19 pandemic — provided as a collective point of departure for the SOLVE deliberative dialogues.
SOLVE Study Team (May 2023). Intervention delivered at the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness & Response.
SOLVE is one of several projects through which the Equity Science Lab advances evidence, equity, and action.