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A decision by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to amend a Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, drew criticism from AIDS activists on Friday.
According to the Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), by making permanent the waiver adopted in August 2003, WTO members had ignored the reality and difficulties in accessing drugs and treatment on the ground.
GNP+ said the decision was a "bad deal", which would block access to affordable medicines for countries with little or no production capacity, and could only serve to cripple an effective response to public health issues, especially HIV/AIDS.
"How can a system that requires order-by-order, drug-by-drug, country-by-country procedures be seen as an improvement?" said GNP+ director Mauro Guarinieri in a statement.
People and Planet, a UK-based rights group, also denounced the amendment, saying that WTO had once again demonstrated its priorities lied with the interests of rich countries and large pharmaceutical companies at the expense of millions of people living in developing countries.
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