E-drug: WHO EB Resolution Approved
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Dear Colleagues,
The World Health Organization's Executive Board approved an
important resolution on public health and drug policy this week.
Below you will find HAI's response to this news. Please contact the office
for further information about the resolution or to receive a copy of its
full text. Copies should also be available shortly from
WHO's website : http://www.who.ch
Best wishes,
Lisa Hayes
Publications & Information Officer
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
28 January 1999
WHO EB Resolution Addresses Controversy on Public Health and Trade
On Tuesday, 26 January 1999, the WHO Executive Board adopted a resolution
on the Revised Drug Strategy which had been the subject of heated debate
for almost a year.
The resolution gives a clear mandate to WHO to address the public health
implications of trade agreements and to advise Member States about them.
Specifically, the text addresses such issues as the consequences of the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) on
access to essential drugs and the scope for countries to protect public
health when implementing such agreements.
The resolution approves WHO's role to provide countries with guidance on
such issues as compulsory licencing, parallel imports, and the US Bolar
amendment in order to increase access to essential drugs now and in the
future.
"In a world driven by trade and profits, it is reassuring to see that an
international agency like WHO has the mandate to protect public health,"
said Bas van der Heide, Coordinator of HAI Europe.
The South African delegate addressing the Executive Board hailed the
resolution saying "It reaffirms the primacy of the public health principles
on which this organisation was founded, thereby offering a small but bright
beacon of hope in the uncertain and unpredictable globalised environment of
the 21st century. This resolution is in fact a strengthened version of the
original as now public health considerations are an issue, not only in
international trade agreements but additionally in international financial
agreements."
The compromise wording was produced by an ad hoc working group in October
1998 after consensus on the original resolution proved impossible at last
May's World Health Assembly. Fifty-nine member states took part in this
working group. NGOs including HAI put forward their views and described
consumers' needs at the meeting's technical briefing on globalisation and
pharmaceuticals.
The resolution will be tabled at the World Health Assembly in May 1999. In
the months leading up to the Assembly, HAI will use its campaigns to
highlight the importance of implementing the resolution's provisions.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, Contact:
Bas van der Heide
Coordinator, HAI-Europe
Tel: (+31-20) 683 3684
Fax: (+31-20) 685 5002
E-mail: HAI@HAI.ANTENNA.NL
For more details about HAI's views on globalisation and trade, visit its
website: http://www.haiweb.org/news.html
Elizabeth Hayes
Health Action International Europe
Jacob van Lennepkade 334 T, 1053 NJ Amsterdam, Netherlands
tel: +31 20 6833684, fax: +31 20 6855002
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