Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) is a global movement of university students organizing on their campuses and beyond to ensure that publicly funded medicines and medical innovations are affordable and accessible to the public. We work to empower students at over 100 university chapters to tackle the issue of access to life-saving medicines in conjunction with a diverse network of peers across 20 countries.
The immediate problem is this: when we do have a vaccine that is safe and effective for COVID-19, will everyone have access to it? Without affordable access for everyone, across the world the vaccine won't be able to do its job. More urgently than ever the global need for collaboration and solidarity is being felt by people who had never before paid attention to these issues. And an urgent question needs to be answered: how do we ensure access for all?
People from all backgrounds, ethnicities, levels of status and wealth have been impacted by Covid-19. We are all vulnerable, but not all of us equally. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and the Center for Artistic Activism are partners for this campaign to ensure the vaccine is freely accessible to everyone in the world.
UAEM believes that universities and publicly funded research institutions must be part of the solution to the access to medicines crisis by promoting medical innovation in the public interest and ensuring that all people, regardless of income, have access to essential medicines. C4AA has helped thousands of people create successful advocacy campaigns around the world, and helped organizations and funders create visionary strategies that combine the best practices of arts and activism.
