A COALITION of 16 public-health and international aid organisations are calling on the government to ensure that the proceeds from a global coronavirus fundraising summit today lead to “equal access” to vaccines, treatments and tests.

Campaigners are warning against pharmaceutical giants using exclusivity and intellectual property rights to slap high prices on medicines and tests.

Conditions should be imposed on funding for the research and development of products so that the drugs and tests can instead be sold cheaply to developing countries and the public can obtain them free of charge, the coalition said.