E-drug: Global petition on access to medicines & trade
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[Cross-posted from Pharm-policy. Thanks. HH]
Health Before Wealth - Demand the World Trade Organisation
Changes its Patent Rules
The Oxfam - Third World Network - Health Gap Coalition global
petition on world trade rules and access to medicines was
temporarily suspended last week due to concerns that it may have
been viewed as insensitive following the September 11th terrorist
attacks in the US.
The petition has now been re-focused to take these sensitivities into
account while continuing to focus on the same goal - demonstrating
the strength of global public concern about World Trade
Organisation (WTO) patent rules that put the profits of powerful
drug companies before public health in poor countries.
The revised petition is live on the internet NOW at
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/health and will run through till November
when it will be presented to the WTO at its meeting in Qatar. The
petition calls on WTO members, in particular the United States, to
demonstrate their commitment to put health before wealth by
changing and clarifying global patent rules at the forthcoming WTO
summit conference.
To achieve mass support for the revised petition we rely on the
support of individuals and organisations across the world.
As an individual you can support the campaign by signing the
petition online now at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/health and by
telling all your friends and colleagues to do the same!
Your organisation can also support the global petition in one or
more of the following ways:
1. Advertise and put a link to the petition on your website - the
petition page is at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/health
2. Circulate details of the petition to member organisations,
alliances and networks
3. Encourage supporters to sign the petition and encourage member
organisations and alliances to promote the petition to their
supporters or partners
4. Endorse the petition by sending your organisations name and
contact details to amitchell@oxfam.org.uk. We will display the
names of all organisations that endorse the petition on the petition
site.
A variety of resources have been produced to help promote the
petition including campaign banner adverts or logo's are available if
you want make your website link more visual. The adverts can be
downloaded from the petition site. To access the banner advert and
for further information on how to download it onto your own
website go to http://www.oxfam.org.uk/health and click on
'download'. A4 petition sheets for use 'offline' can also be
downloaded from the petition website.
I hope you and your organisation will be able to support the
petition. If you have any queries please contact Anna Mitchell at
Oxfam GB on +44 1865 313198 or at amitchell@oxfam.org.uk
Anna Mitchell
Oxfam Great Brittain
e-mail: amitchell@Oxfam.org.uk
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