U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

EAST AFRICA: New agreement on access to drugs welcomed

NAIROBI, 16 November (IRIN) - The Ugandan government on Thursday welcomed
a declaration by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that should allow
developing countries to use generic drugs in times of health crises,
overriding the patents held by major pharmaceutical companies.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also welcomed the declaration, and 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 United Nations' World Health Organisation (WHO) also welcomed as "an
historic declaration" the WTO ministers' statement that the global
Agreement on TRIPS "should be interpreted so as to protect public health
and promote access to medicine for all." [full Doha Declaration at
http://www.wto.org/">

The WHO would continue to work with member states, with the WTO and with
other relevant organisations to help with implementation, it stated on
Thursday.

In advance of the WTO meeting held in Doha, Qatar, from 9-13 November,
developing countries had demanded that the trade regulatory body allow
them set aside patents in certain circumstances to make cheaper, generic
drugs available to their people - especially to combat the HIV/AIDS
pandemic which has wrought havoc on the third world.

The world's Least Developed Countries (LDCs) met in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in
July and agreed a common negotiating position for Doha that they would not
support higher labour and environment standards being promoted by the US
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, to ensure broader access to them. [for more details, go to
http://www.globaltreatmentaccess.org/

Ugandan Minister of State for Finance Sam Kuteesa on Thursday welcomed the
WTO decision as a breakthrough for Uganda, where second-generation drugs
could help reduce costs and increase the number of HIV-positive people
accessing anti-retroviral medicines (ARVs) to control their illness, AFP
news agency reported.

The Ugandan authorities were uncertain about the value and effectiveness
of generic anti-AIDS drugs but said they would certainly use them if they
were proven effective, and patented rugs were not affordable, the
country's independent Monitor newspaper reported on Tuesday, 13 November.

A number of Ugandan companies, including Kampala Pharmaceutical Industries
and Rene Industries, are planning to manufacture ARVs, it added.

The Kenya Coalition for Access to Essential Medicines (KCAEM) also
welcomed the Doha declaration. "Very simply, it puts governments in the
driving seat to be able to put life before profit, while in practical
terms, this means if pharmaceutical company prices are beyond the reach of
the poor, Kenya can disregard the patent without fear of reprisal," it
said in a statement on Thursday.

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, according for campaigners for access to essential
medicines.

ARVs generally cost between US $2.5 and $5 per day in Kenya for those
living with HIV/AIDS who could afford them; the average Kenyan income is
in the region of $1 per day, AFP news agency reported last week.

It quoted Chris Ouma, a doctor working with the nongovernmental
organisation Action Aid, as saying that an estimated 800,000 Kenyans had
died of AIDS since the Kenyan government passed a law in June, which was
intended to increase public access to vital drugs.

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 nor 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," the Kenya Coalition for Access to
Essential Medicines (KCAEM) quoted independent lawyer Sisule Musungu as
saying.

"The next step is to effectively use all existing provisions of the law to
make this a reality," Musungu added.

In a separate development, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said that
for the first time in the Doha Declaration, countries had firmly
acknowledged that the globalisation of commerce and the reduction of trade
barriers must take into account environmental issues and the development
needs of the world's poorer countries.

"Negotiations on trade and the environment were, until recently, a taboo
subject in the WTO," said UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. "But the
Ministerial Declaration issued in Qatar has shown that countries are now
willing to address these complex links between the need to liberalise
trade and the need to protect the world's forests, fisheries, wetlands,
wildlife and other precious natural resources."

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by
commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001

------------------
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO SUBSCRIBERS

IRIN has introduced a brand new e-mail service allowing you to be more
selective in the information you receive. With the current system being
phased-out, please go to the IRIN web site at
http://www.irinnews.org/subscriptions/default.asp to resubscribe yourself
and take full advantage of the new options that are available. This will
automatically remove you from the old distribution list. If you do not
have access to the web or experience any problems please contact
[email protected] and we will assist you to resubscribe.

Joanne Clarke
IRIN Customer Services

Tel +41 22 321 8425, Geneva, CH
mobile +41 078 631 9996
[email protected]

-------------------

[This item is delivered in the "africa-english" service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2001