E-DRUG: EU Parliament on Access to medicines/R&D/Trade negotiations
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Please find below the resolution voted by the European Parliament
yesterday on the Millennium Development Goals - the midway point.
See below a selection of provisions related to access to healthcare and
treatment.
- Increase fundings for health R&D
- Full use of the Doha Declaration / flexibilities of TRIPs
- No TRIPs + provisions in EU bilateral and regional agreements
Full text
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2007-0274+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN [repair link]
European Parliament resolution of 20 June 2007 on the Millennium
Development Goals - the midway point (2007/2103(INI))
Healh care, Treatment, Health R&D
38. Believes that health care infrastructure deserves stable and long
term financial support from national budgets and international assistance
in order to deliver the health-related MDGs, such as reducing infant
mortality by increasing immunisation coverage, reducing maternal mortality
by increasing access to skilled professionals, supporting research and
development of and access to new diagnostics and therapies, providing safe
drinking water and sanitation, and scaling up significantly towards the
goal of universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support of
HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and other diseases by 2010, including for
marginalised populations and those most vulnerable to infectious diseases;
39. Calls on the international donor community to assist developing
countries in developing and implementing comprehensive health action
programmes, tackling issues such as the need to secure sustainable
financing for health infrastructure and salaries, increase investment in
training and avoid an excessive "brain drain" through the migration of
high-skilled health workers;
40. Welcomes the Johannesburg Declaration of the 3rd Ordinary Session of
the AU Conference of Ministers of Health of 9-13 April 2007 on the
Strengthening of Health Systems for Equity and Development as an important
initiative towards achieving the health MDGs; calls on the EU to support
the AU member states in implementing the programmes based on that
Declaration;
Access to medicines-R&D- Flexibilities of TRIPs/Doha
44. Calls on the Commission to step up its commitment to combating
HIV/AIDS in developing countries and to ensure that those most affected
have ever better access, at affordable prices, to prevention resources and
policies, antiretroviral treatments and healthcare services
(infrastructure, personnel and medicines) capable of meeting the growing
demand;
45. Notes that all the MDGs are critically dependent on stemming the
HIV/AIDS epidemic and asks the Commission to accord the highest priority
to addressing this global pandemic by supporting an intensified and
comprehensive response; points out that the response should ensure
universal access to existing prevention and treatment as well as adequate
investment in the development of and universal access to a wide range of
prevention technologies, including microbicides and vaccines; and calls on
the EU to promote greater industry participation, a more coordinated
scientific effort, and policies and programmes that accelerate the testing
of novel vaccines and microbicides;
46. Calls on the EU to increase funding to ensure that progress in basic
science and biomedicine results in new and affordable drugs, vaccines, and
diagnostics for neglected diseases, to support the development phases of
R&D and to secure the use of new products by neglected populations whilst
respecting the TRIPS provisions;
47. Calls on the EU to support the full implementation of the Doha
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health of the WTO
Ministerial Conference of 9-14 November 2001, and to ensure that medicines
are affordable for those for those developing countries that do take
measures in compliance with the Doha Declaration, and further calls on the
EU to provide technical assistance to developing countries for the
implementation of pro-public-health measures in patent law;
48. Stresses the need for a comprehensive review of those systems in
place that are failing to solve the access to medicines problem, to
include submitting recommendations to the WTO for amendment to its rules
governing the export of medicines under compulsory licence, known as the
August 30th decision;
Trade- Bilateral/Regional agreements between EU and Developing countries
related to access to medicines
93. Believes that pharmaceutical-related TRIPS affecting public health
and access to medicines which go beyond the TRIPS Agreement should be
excluded from EPAs and other future bilateral or regional agreements with
low-income countries;
94. Believes that all ACP countries must have a clear right to choose
whether to extend the negotiations beyond trade in goods, and calls on the
Commission to ensure that intellectual property rights and the Singapore
issues (competition policy, public procurement and investment) are taken
off the negotiating table if ACP countries do not wish to negotiate them;
96. Takes note of recent studies by UNCTAD and others which show that
extensive trade liberalisation in LDCs has had little effect on sustained
and substantial poverty reduction objectives and has contributed to a
decline in the terms of trade of developing countries, in particular of
African countries; and calls on the EU to start a sustained, sincere
campaign to genuinely increase the export capacity of LDCs by promoting
technical assistance to further physio-sanitary standards, property law,
business skills and value-addition programmes;
97. Calls on the Commission to adjust its cooperation and trade policies
as far as possible in order to help the governments of developing
countries to maintain and develop public services, particularly those
guaranteeing access for the population as whole to drinking water, health
services, education and transport;
Alexandra Heumber
EU Advocacy Liaison Officer
MSF
Access to Essential Medicines Campaign
Rue Dupre, 94. 1090 Brussels
++32 (0) 2 474 75 09 (Dir off)
++ 32 (0) 479 514 900 (Mob)
++ 32 (0) 2 474 75 75 (Fax)