New agreement on access to drugs welcomed

Campaign groups and the UN Secretary-General have welcomed a declaration by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Doha, Qatar that allows developing countries to use generic drugs in times of health crises, overriding the patents held by major pharmaceutical companies. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was especially pleased by the WTO's affirmation that nothing in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) should prevent developing countries from taking measures to protect public health. "This will lead to increased availability of drugs to combat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics," Annan added. "The deal on patents will help poor countries get cheaper medicines. Doha sends a strong message that people's health overrides the interests of big drug companies, who will find it much harder to bully poor countries over patents," said Michael Bailey, Oxfam's Senior Policy Advisor on Thursday. "But the fight for affordable medicines isn't over. Without further reform, WTO patent rules will still bring suffering to the sick in the developing world." [Full Doha Declaration at http://www.wto.org ] As a result of the agreement, if drug companies price essential drugs beyond the reach of people who need them, governments can override patents without the threat of retribution. "The huge profile given to the issue changes the political climate, building on the victories in the South Africa and Brazil cases," said Bailey, referring to government successes against pharmaceutical firms over the issue of generic AIDS drugs. "Countries can ensure access to medicines without fear of being dragged into a legal battle," said Ellen 't Hoen of Médecins Sans Frontières. "Now it is up to governments to use these powers to bring down the cost of medicines and increase access to life-saving treatments." In advance of the WTO conference, the world's Least Developed Countries (LDCs) met in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in July and agreed a common negotiating position for Doha. That included a refusal to support higher labour and environmental standards being promoted by the United States and European Union unless there was progress on access to essential drugs. There had been concern, however, that pressure from developed countries - including alleged threats of aid cuts - would undermine that common stand. Humanitarian organisations have been campaigning hard for WTO rules that would allow developing countries to manufacture or import low-cost equivalents of patented drugs, and especially of expensive anti-HIV/AIDS drug cocktails. [For more details, go to http://www.globaltreatmentaccess.org ] But effective distribution is another challenge, analysts point out. In Kenya, anti-AIDS drugs are still too expensive for most people who need them, four months after the government passed a bill intended to allow access to cheaper drugs. ARVs generally cost between US $2.5 and $5 per day in Kenya for those living with HIV/AIDS who can afford them. The average Kenyan income is in the region of $1 per day, the news agency AFP reported. It quoted Chris Ouma, a doctor working with the non-governmental organisation Action Aid, as saying that an estimated 800,000 Kenyans had died of AIDS since the government introduced the bill. No date has been set for the application of the law. The government has failed to deliver on promises to improve doctors training and laboratory facilities, and neither has it entered negotiations with drug companies on the price of essential medicines, AFP reported. The new WTO declaration was "a great victory that puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the ministers for trade and health to bring down the cost of essential medicines and increase access to life-saving treatments for the Kenyan people," a statement by the Kenya Coalition for Access to Essential Medicines (KCAEM) said, quoting independent lawyer Sisule Musungu. "The next step is to effectively use all existing provisions of the law to make this a reality," Musungu added.