E-DRUG: UNAIDS on WTO/Seattle/access to medicines
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[from the new UNAIDS website: www.unaids.org]
[specific Access to Medicines / WTO statement see:
http://www.unaids.org/publications/documents/health/access/wtostatemen
t.html
original Word file see:
http://www.unaids.org/publications/documents/health/access/wtostatemen
t.doc
]
Statement of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
at the Third WTO Ministerial Conference
Seattle, 30 November - 3 December 1999
HIV and AIDS constitute national emergencies in many countries in the
developing world. The epidemic has destroyed the lives of individuals
and their communities, and has wiped out hard-won economic and social
development gains in the hardest-hit countries. Decisions taken by
the Third WTO Ministerial Conference may have an impact on the global
response to the epidemic and the development crisis that has ensued.
Thus, the implications for HIV prevention and care, including the
needs of HIV-positive people for access to life-saving drugs, must
feature centrally in the WTO deliberations in Seattle.
As the 20th century draws to a close, some 33.6 million people with
HIV face a future dimmed by the fatal disease, AIDS. The vast majority
of people with HIV - some 95% - live in the developing world, and this
proportion is likely to increase. In some countries, one in four
adults is HIV-positive. Life expectancy in the most severely affected
countries in southern Africa, which rose to 59 years by the early
1990s, is projected to drop to 45 years between 2005 and 2010 due to
AIDS. With half of all people who acquire HIV being children and
young people below the age of 25, AIDS strikes down some of the most
productive members of society. Companies doing business in severely
affected countries are suffering as their workers get sick and die.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has urged States to
promote "improved access to high-quality goods and services for
preventing transmission of the virus, and promote effective programmes
for the care and support of persons infected and affected by HIV,
including through improved and equitable access to safe and effective
medication for the treatment of HIV infection and HIV/AIDS-related
illnesses."
International trade agreements and policies can affect access to goods
and services which are crucial to HIV prevention, care and impact
mitigation. These goods and services include: condoms, both male and
female; HIV/AIDS drugs and other pharmaceutical products, as well as
future vaccines; HIV testing equipment, materials and services; and
products and services to ensure the safety of blood transfusions.
The 1999 World Health Assembly urged States to "explore and review
their options under international agreements, including trade
agreements, to safeguard access to essential drugs."
The availability of drugs for HIV and AIDS has significantly reduced
AIDS morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. This has
allowed many HIV-positive people in those countries to live healthier
lives and to continue to contribute to their families and societies.
The vast majority of HIV-positive people in developing countries,
however, where 95% of HIV-positive people live, do not have access
even to relatively simple medications for potentially fatal
opportunistic infections, not to mention more sophisticated
antiretroviral drugs that attack the virus itself. Research supported
by UNAIDS to evaluate the availability of HIV/AIDS drugs in
sub-Saharan Africa and Asia has pointed to the severe deprivation of
even basic medications for HIV/AIDS-related illnesses in many
countries.
The availability of HIV/AIDS drugs, like others, depends upon at least
three main factors: (i) sustainable financing for drug procurement at
the national level; (ii) national and local health infrastructure for
delivering drugs and monitoring patient compliance; and (iii)
affordable drug prices. High HIV/AIDS drug prices are due, in part,
to the fact that many HIV/AIDS drugs are protected by patents and
their manufacture and sale can be exclusively controlled;
manufacturers have not yet introduced preferential pricing to the
extent necessary to make the prices of HIV/AIDS drugs consistent with
local purchasing power in many developing countries. Governments must
ensure sufficient financing for procurement and adequate health system
capacity to support care for people with HIV/AIDS.
Overall, the UNAIDS Secretariat supports the statement of the World
Health Organization (WHO) to the Third WTO Ministerial Conference.
The Secretariat supports patent protection as an incentive for
innovative research and development of new HIV/AIDS drugs and,
hopefully, the discovery of HIV vaccines, in particular vaccines
suitable for use in developing countries. At the same time, however,
intellectual property rights must be considered in the context of
other social interests, such as the human rights concerning health and
the benefits of scientific progress and its applications.
The UNAIDS Secretariat further supports:
� Preferential pricing of HIV/AIDS goods, including male and female
condoms, and HIV/AIDS drugs and other pharmaceutical products, so that
these products are priced affordably at levels consistent with local
purchasing power.
� Reduction or elimination of import duties, customs and taxes on
HIV/AIDS goods, including condoms and pharmaceutical products.
� Measures to promote generic drug competition and the "early working"
of patented drugs (e.g., the so-called "Bolar amendment") so that
generic HIV/AIDS drugs can be made available more rapidly.
� Recourse to compulsory licensing may be necessary, as provided for
under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS), such as in countries where HIV/AIDS constitutes a
national emergency.
The UNAIDS Secretariat urges the Third WTO Ministerial Conference to
consider carefully the impact of its decisions on this epidemic and on
people living with HIV and AIDS. The Secretariat is committed to
working within the United Nations system and with other partners to
identify ways in which trade and intellectual property agreements,
policies and practices can support the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Notes:
1. UNAIDS is the leading advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS.
It brings together seven United Nations agencies in a common effort
to fight the epidemic: the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN
Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN
International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), the UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the World Bank. This Statement is submitted
by the UNAIDS Secretariat.
2. Commission on Human Rights, Fifty-fifth session, 21.04.99,
E/CN.4/1999/L.72, p.4, para. 4.
3. 52nd World Health Assembly, May 1999, Res. EB103/1999/R1.
4. Sow et al., Access to Drugs for People Living with HIV/AIDS in
University Teaching Hospitals in Developing Countries, unpub.
manuscript, 1998, p.2.
5. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
Articles 12 and 15.
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