THE THREE COVID CRISES AND MULTISTAKEHOLDERISM

The document argues that the 'COVID crisis' consists of three layers: a viral reality, a systemic crisis rooted in existing inequalities, and a 'power crisis' driven by the strategic responses of powerful actors. It contends that multistakeholderism (MSism)—exemplified by ACT-A and COVAX—serves as a tool for the Global North to maintain corporate profits and the rules of globalisation while bypassing the accountability of the UN system. The author identifies four responses by the powerful: expanding markets, protecting globalisation, a passive 'stand-back' approach that allows mass death in the Global South, and limited mitigation. The report concludes with recommendations to treat health as a global public good and return governance to multilateral frameworks.

• The author distinguishes between three types of COVID crises: the viral crisis (the biological spread), the systemic crisis (how the virus interacts with pre-existing social and economic inequalities), and the power crisis (the consequences of actions or inactions taken by powerful actors).
• Powerful actors have used the pandemic to expand the economic and political power of OECD governments and transnational corporations (TNCs), such as by demanding vaccine liability waivers from Global South governments as a condition for purchase.
• A primary goal for powerful actors has been to protect the rules of globalisation and intellectual property (IP) systems, resisting IP waivers for COVID technologies to prevent a precedent that could be applied to climate or hunger crises.
• The 'stand-back approach' is described as a passive strategy where Northern states protect pharmaceutical profits over saving lives in the Global South, which the author characterizes as a 'silent war' of inaction.
• Multistakeholderism (MSism) is presented as a governance tool that allows TNCs and powerful governments to exert power without the formal responsibility, obligations, or liabilities required of national states.
• The Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and its pillars (diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and health systems) are viewed as mechanisms that marginalise the UN system and prioritise market-based solutions over public health as a global good.
• COVAX is critiqued for failing to meet its minimalist target of vaccinating 10% of the population in 92 target countries and for operating on the assumption that medical care must be purchased.
• The World Economic Forum's (WEF) COVID Action Platform is cited as an example of using the crisis to expand specific commercial markets, including fintech, digital services, and consumer wearables.
• The report highlights a severe disparity in vaccination rates, noting that 74% of people in high-income economies were fully vaccinated compared to 16% in the 28 lower-income economies.

APA

Gleckman, H. (n.d.). THE THREE COVID CRISES AND MULTISTAKEHOLDERISM. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Report_three-COVID-crises-and-multistakeholderism_Friends-of-the-Earth-International-and-Transnational-Institute_2022.pdf

Chicago

Gleckman, Harris. THE THREE COVID CRISES AND MULTISTAKEHOLDERISM. Friends of the Earth International, n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Report_three-COVID-crises-and-multistakeholderism_Friends-of-the-Earth-International-and-Transnational-Institute_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gleckman |first1=Harris |title=THE THREE COVID CRISES AND MULTISTAKEHOLDERISM |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Report_three-COVID-crises-and-multistakeholderism_Friends-of-the-Earth-International-and-Transnational-Institute_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gleckmanndthree, author = {Gleckman, Harris}, title = {{THE THREE COVID CRISES AND MULTISTAKEHOLDERISM}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Report_three-COVID-crises-and-multistakeholderism_Friends-of-the-Earth-International-and-Transnational-Institute_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }