L'UE ne fait pas assez pour l'accès des pays pauvres aux médicaments
http://www.romandie.com/infos/news2/091020160534.c0fei0sh.asp
BRUXELLES - L'Union européenne fait passer les intérêts des grandes
compagnies pharmaceutiques avant ceux des deux milliards de personnes qui
n'ont pas accès aux médicaments essentiels, ont dénoncé mercredi les ONG
Oxfam International et Health Action International Europe (HAI).
"L'UE est en contradiction avec les règles du commerce international", ont
estimé ces deux organisations humanitaires dans un rapport présenté à
Bruxelles.
Les ONG affirment que le Brésil et l'Inde vont porter plainte contre l'UE
devant l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) après que les Pays-Bas ont
empêché la livraison via l'Europe de médicaments génériques indiens destinés
au Brésil, à la Colombie et au Nigeria.
Depuis la fin 2008, l'Allemagne et les Pays-Bas ont saisi 19 cargaisons de
médicaments génériques à destination de pays en développement. Or, affirment
les ONG, le transit par l'Europe de ces médicaments était légal au regard
des règles de l'OMC.
Les ONG ont dénoncé "les deux poids, deux mesures" de la politique
européenne du médicament.
Alors qu'une majorité de pays européens tentent de réduire les prix des
médicaments pour leur marché intérieur, ils augmentent la pression sur les
gouvernements des pays en développement pour qu'ils cèdent leurs droits
d'obtenir des médicaments génériques à des prix abordables, affirme le
rapport.
Selon Oxfam et HAI, l'UE souhaite la mise en oeuvre de règles plus sévères
en matière de propriété intellectuelle dans les accords bilatéraux de libre
échange, allant au-delà des accords existants de l'OMC sur les aspects des
droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce (ADPIC).
A l'origine, ces accords ADPIC devaient permettre aux pays pauvres d'avoir
accès à des versions génériques, à prix inférieurs, de médicaments brevetés.
"L'UE est coupable de doubles normes", a dit Elise Ford, porte-parole
d'Oxfam. "On bataille pour faire baisser les prix des médicaments en Europe
tout en durcissant les règles de propriété intellectuelle qui empêchent les
pays pauvres d'acheter des médicaments abordables".
La Commission européenne s'est défendu de vouloir entraver l'accès des
médicaments génériques aux pays pauvres et a défendu les saisies au nom de
la lutte contre la contrefaçon.
"La Commission prend la question des saisies de médicaments génériques très
au sérieux", a dit Lutz Güllner, un porte-parole chargé des questions
commerciales.
"Toutefois, des mesures doivent continuer à être prises contre le commerce
mondial des produits de contrefaçon, et notamment de faux médicaments
dangereux, dont les effets négatifs frappent principalement les pays en
développement", a argumenté M. Güllner.
(©AFP / 20 octobre 2009 18h05)
Le rapport :
Trading Away Access to Medicines: How the European Union's trade agenda
has taken a wrong turn. Sophie Bloemen (HAI) and Rohit Malpani (Oxfam).
http://haiweb.org/20102009/OxfamHAIReportTradingAwayAccesstoMedicines.pdf
-----Message d'origine-----
la part de Terri - Louise Beswick
Envoyé : mardi 20 octobre 2009 12:08
poorcountries without medicines
E-DRUG: Press release- EU double standards threaten to leave poor countries
without medicines
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EU double standards threaten to leave poor countries without medicines -
Oxfam and Health Action International Europe
20 October 2009 - The European Union is contradicting world trade rules
by putting the interests of big drug companies before the 2 billion
people in the world who cannot access essential medicines, according to
a new report today by Oxfam and Health Action International, Europe.
The EU's actions also undermine its obligations to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals, as well as World Trade Organization
agreements.
The report coincides with recent news that India and Brazil are filing a
complaint against the European Commission at the WTO after the
Netherlands seized anti-HIV and other medicines earlier this year. The
medicines were going from India via Europe to Brazil, Colombia and
Nigeria.
The report says that, since late 2008, Germany as well as the
Netherlands has made customs seizures together totaling 19 shipments of
generic medicines bound for developing countries. Oxfam and HAI (Europe)
say the generic shipments were legitimate under WTO rules.
The EU is increasing pressure on developing country governments to
surrender their rights to obtain affordable, generic medicines in order
to protect public health, even though these rights are guaranteed under
global trade rules, the groups say.
The EU is also insisting on tough new intellectual property rules in
bilateral free trade deals that go beyond the WTO's existing TRIPS
agreement.
The EU is pushing these measures that will result in higher medicine
prices in developing countries at the same time it is trying to reduce
domestic medicine prices. Twenty-four out of 27 EU Member States have
taken steps to implement price controls for medicines.
Furthermore, the European Commission is carrying out a high profile
investigation into the pharmaceutical industry for intellectual property
abuses in the European Union, and is contemplating action against these
companies.
Elise Ford, Oxfam head of EU advocacy, said: "The EU is guilty of double
standards. One rule for the rich and another for the poor. A crackdown
on European pharmaceutical prices is happening alongside a concerted
effort to further push intellectual property rules that prevent poor
countries from buying affordable medicines."
The EU's policies are increasing the cost of medicines. This is hitting
the poorest people in developing countries disproportionately hard, as
20-60% of their health budgets are spent on medicines.
"Millions of poor people have to pay for medicines out of their own
pockets so even a small price rise can make them unaffordable. Europe's
policies are directly responsible for this scandal," Ford said.
The EU's trade policies demand that developing countries protect the
interests of drug companies above public health priorities, and the EU
demands exceed even those made by the much-criticised US administration
of President Bush.
Sophie Bloemen, Projects Officer for Health Action International Europe,
said: "The EU must accept its moral and legal obligations. There is
growing evidence that the EU's trade agenda is causing severe damage to
public health in developing countries."
The report details a number of other EU policies that are damaging
access to medicines in developing countries including:
- promotion of a new global framework to enforce Intellectual
Property rules which delay access to generic medicines in developing
countries, including through seizures of legitimate medicines;
- obstructing progress at the World Health Organization towards
new models of research and development that meet health needs in
developing countries; and
- spending on R&D for developing countries that remains
insufficient in spite of increases in recent years.
These policies lack coherence and undermine broader EU development
objectives to promote access to health care. While the EU is increasing
funding to improve health care for European citizens, it is denying
developing countries the affordable medicines they need to ensure good
health, the report says.
"It's time that the EU joins up its policies. Both the EC and Member
States must promote access to health care in their development policies
and access to affordable medicines through their trade policy", Ford
said.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT:
Trading Away Access to Medicines: How the European Union's trade agenda
has taken a wrong turn. Sophie Bloemen (HAI) and Rohit Malpani (Oxfam).
http://haiweb.org/20102009/OxfamHAIReportTradingAwayAccesstoMedicines.pdf
For further information:
Angela Corbelan +32 22341155/ +32 473562260/
angela.corbelan@oxfaminternational.org
<mailto:angela.corbelan@oxfaminternational.org>
Sophie Bloemen +31 20 683 3684/ sophie@haiweb.org
"Terri - Louise Beswick" <Terri@haiweb.org>