The Politics of Global Vaccine Equity
A global shortage of vaccines in the COVID-19 pandemic raised difficult questions about how they should be distributed, and international mechanisms ultimately failed to achieve an equitable distribution during the emergency. Professor Renu Singh analyzes why this inequity occurred and how the situation could be improved in the future. She argues that power inequalities among key actors in global health politics caused an overemphasis on mechanisms to voluntarily distribute existing vaccine supplies relative to mechanisms for sharing knowledge and legally expanding vaccine production. In addition, she draws on original survey data from Italy, Germany, and the United States to provide insights into which vaccine equity policies people support and the kinds of messages that are likely to strengthen approval for vaccine sharing.

Renu Singh is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and the Program Director for the MSc in Public Policy at Durham University. She is also the chair of the International Studies Association’s Global Health Section. Her research interests include public health policy, global health security and governance, comparative social policy, and sustainability, and her work has been published in International Studies Quarterly, Social Science & Medicine, and BMJ Global Health, among others.
Date: 6 February 2025, 17:00
Venue: Queen Elizabeth House, 3 Mansfield Road OX1 3TB
Venue Details: Seminar Room 1
Speaker: Dr Renu Singh (Durham University)
Organising department: Oxford Department of International Development
Organiser: Emily Usherwood (Oxford Department of International Development)
Organiser contact email address: mscggd-admin@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Host: John Gledhill (Oxford Department of International Development)
Part of: Global Governance & Diplomacy Public Speaker Series
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Emily Usherwood