APORDE Podcast Series EP6: Public Health, Pharmaceutical Rents, and the Role of Healthcare as a Public Good

The African Programme on Rethinking Development Economics (APORDE) is a high high-level training programme in development economics targeting policy-makers, researchers, academics and civil society representatives from Africa and other developing countries. The programme has been running since 2007 and is a joint initiative between the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS). In this 6th episode and last instalment of the APORDE series of Podcasts, hosted by Ayabonga Cawe and joined by Professor Alex van den Heever from the University of Witwatersrand, we consider the very current and relevant debates on public health, pharmaceutical rents, and the role of healthcare as a public good in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our discussion focuses on the manufacture and supply of pharmaceutical treatment products that assist nations to respond to global or even regionalized healthcare crises. From HIV to Ebola to COVID-19, we ask why it's important that Africa produces its own vaccines and treatments to supply its treatment needs and the implications that this has for industrialization.