April 9, 2021

Senators
United States Senate
Washington, DC

RE: Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waiver at the World Trade Organization

Dear Senators,

Greetings from the Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN), a faith-based, non-partisan coalition of 29 US-based religious communities of men and women. Inspired by the Gospel and informed by Catholic Social Teaching, we seek to educate and advocate for just relations with Africa and to work in partnership with African peoples.

As an advocacy organization, we are deeply concerned about the global impact of COVID-19 especially on the African continent. Today, we are reaching out to request that you join the effort by Senators Sanders, Warren, Brown, and Baldwin urging President Biden to support the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights waiver at the World Trade Organization that will enable the acceleration of the global production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Pope Francis in his recent Encyclical reminds us that we are “all in the same boat, where one person’s problems are the problems of all” (Fratelli Tutti, n. 32). In this spirit, we ask you to join your colleagues in support of this waver to save people’s lives and livelihoods not only in the United States, but also around the world.

We thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Rev. Nelson Adjei-Bediako, SMA
Executive Director

Cc:

Senator Richard Shelby
Senator Tommy Tuberville
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Senator Daniel S. Sullivan,
Senator Mark Kelly
Senator Kyrsten Sinema
Senator John Boozman
Senator Tom Cotton,
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Alex Padilla,
Senator Michael Bennet
Senator John Hickenlooper
Senator Richard Blumenthal
Senator Christopher S. Murphy
Senator Tom Carper
Senator Chris Coons
Senator Jon Ossoff
Senator Marco Rubio
Senator Rick Scott
Senator Raphael Warnock
Senator Mazie K. Hirono
Senator Brian E. Schatz
Senator Mike Crapo
Senator Jim Risch
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Senator Dick Durbin
Senator Mike Braun
Senator Todd C. Young
Senator Joni Ernst
Senator Chuck Grassley
Senator Roger Marshall
Senator Jerry Moran

Senator Mitch McConnell
Senator Rand Paul
Senator Bill Cassidy
Senator John Neely Kennedy
Senator Susan Collins
Senator Angus King
Senator Ben Cardin
Senator Chris Van Hollen
Senator Edward J. Markey
Senator Gary Peters
Senator Debbie Stabenow
Senator Amy Klobuchar
Senator Tina Smith
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
Senator Roger Wicker
Senator Roy Blunt
Senator Josh Hawley
Senator Steve Daines
Senator Jon Tester
Senator Deb Fischer
Senator Ben Sasse
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto
Senator Jacky Rosen
Senator Maggie Hassan
Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Senator Cory Booker
Senator Bob Menendez
Senator Martin Heinrich
Senator Ben Ray Luján
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Senator Chuck Schumer
Senator Richard Burr

Senator Thom Tillis
Senator Kevin Cramer
Senator John Hoeven
Senator Rob Portman
Senator Jim Inhofe
Senator James Lankford
Senator Jeff Merkley
Senator Ron Wyden
Senator Bob Casey Jr.
Senator Pat Toomey
Senator Jack Reed
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse
Senator Lindsey Graham
Senator Tim Scott
Senator Mike Rounds
Senator John Thune
Senator Marsha Blackburn
Senator Bill Hagerty
Senator John Cornyn
Senator Ted Cruz
Senator Mike Lee
Senator Mitt Romney
Senator Patrick Leahy
Senator Tim Kaine
Senator Mark Warner
Senator Maria Cantwell
Senator Patty Murray
Senator Shelley Moore Capito
Senator Joe Manchin III
Senator Ronald Harold Johnson
Senator John Barrasso
Senator Cynthia Lummis

For a pdf version click here.