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Report From WHO Fair Pricing Meeting Shows Balanced Discussion 

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Q&A: Cutting testing wait times to get more infants on HIV treatment 

Malaria in China, 2011–2015: an observational study 

Heat, human odour trap breakthrough 

Yemen conflict: Cholera risk for more than a million children 

Somalia’s impossible fight against cholera 

Antimicrobial resistance: from global agenda to national strategic plan, Thailand 

Threats posed by stockpiles of expired pharmaceuticals in low- and middle-income countries: a Ugandan perspective 

Loss of fertile land fuels ‘looming crisis’ across Africa 

Forum della sostenibilità e opportunità nel settore della salute (Firenze, stazione Leopolda) 29-30 settembre 2017 

WHO Europe: Final Declaration of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, Ostrava, Czech Republic, 13–15 June 2017 

Agriculture is a Major Culprit in Climate Change. Who’s Trying to Change That? 

Dawn of new EU emissions rules could sound death knell for coal power 

How to make sure we all benefit when nonprofits patent technologies like CRISPR 

Health Breaking News: Link 247

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 247

 

RCEP negotiators must fix the damaging provisions that remain a threat to public health 

The building blocks of Sustainable Development – Reporting back from the HLPF 

Ilona Kickbusch: Health diplomacy at the G20—success or failure? 

What US Budget Cuts To Global Health Could Mean For Future Funding 

A Trump Administration Proposal Would Put Clean Drinking Water out of Reach for Millions Around the World  

A Funding Effort to Build a Stronger, More Diverse Climate Movement 

Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals 

Fossil fuel subsidies racking up trillions in health costs 

Cities set the pace on fighting poverty, climate change but who will pay? 

South Sudan prevents famine but world still facing historic hunger threat  

The Case For Nations To Act On Medicines Access 

Access To Medicines For All By 2030: New WHO Strategic Framework Sets Vision 

WHO urges action against HIV drug resistance threat 

AIDS-related deaths decline; 19.5 million people on life-saving treatment – UN report 

MSF sounds alarm over high numbers of people dying with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa 

Dying of AIDS in 2017  

HIV ACTIVISTS DENOUNCE VIIV FOR DENYING 3.5 MILLION PEOPLE ACCESS TO OPTIMAL TREATMENT 

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Medicines Patent Pool Extend Licence for Atazanavir to 122 Developing Countries 

Four African Countries Approaching Control of Their HIV Epidemics as U.S. Continues Its Commitment to PEPFAR 

New vaccine enters the battle against Aids 

HIV treatment: Strategies to reach the next 10 million patients 

WHO Prequalifies First Generic Hepatitis C Drug And First HIV Self-Test  

Growing concerns of hepatitis E in Europe 

Making the case for malaria eradication in a tight budgetary environment 

KEI and Médecins Sans Frontières propose contractual terms to protect access and affordability of Zika vaccine 

The life and death struggle against cholera in Yemen 

Gearing up for disease outbreak: the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control  

Medicaid Expansion Reduced Unpaid Medical Debt And Increased Financial Satisfaction 

Orphan Diseases Or Population Health? Policy Choices Drive Venture Capital Investments 

We Need To Raise The Bar To Improve Cancer Treatments. What’s The Best Way To Do It? 

Backstory: Philanthropy’s Part in a Major Advance in Cancer Treatment 

Cost of diabetes care in Africa could triple by 2030 

 

Wide Area Malaria Vector Suppression

Richard Howe writes: Only one aircraft equipped with a pair of high pressure aerosol generators would be capable of treating over one million acres per night, using only 1/10 of the recommended amount of insecticide

By Richard Howe

 Application Dynamics 

School of hard knocks, aviation trades, pilot and aircraft mechanic

Punta Gorda, Florida USA

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this opinion piece are solely those of the author and are not associated with Policies for Equitable Access to Health - PEAH. PEAH refuses any responsibility or liability for the content, style or form of this post, which remain solely the responsibility of the author

Wide Area Malaria Vector Suppression 

 

Africa is the only continent that has not defeated malaria, and a host of vector-borne pathogens. Why not?

The endemic nature of this problem is due to ineffective intervention methods, that only exacerbate attempts to eliminate vector transmission by inducing resistance to insecticides, creating super bugs in the process. The solution, wide area vector suppression for the purpose of breaking the transmission cycle long enough to eliminate the ability of humans to infect the mosquitoes. Here in Florida where I live, up until about 1950 there was transmission of malaria, smallpox and dengue. The mosquitoes that transmitted these diseases are still here, however modern mosquito control methods removed pathogens from the human population who in turn, used to infected the mosquitoes.

The solution, quit squandering limited resources on ineffective interventions and dedicate them for elimination of the mosquito. How do you accomplish this? Using an aircraft equipped with a pair of high pressure aerosol generators. This method is capable of treating over one million acres per night using only one aircraft, dispensing insecticide. The system I would use has a demonstrated ability to accomplish this task using only 1/10 of the recommended amount of insecticide. The reason this works at dramatically reduced rates has to do with the fact it is a relatively new, and patented technology, that I have 20 million acres of experience with.

UNICEF reports 300,000 children die of malaria each year in Nigeria, in addition to a 11% maternal mortality. Harvard Health Policy Review, fall of 2001 Vol 2, reports 300 million cases of malaria annually in Nigeria with 2 to 3 million deaths. Humans are the smartest animals on God’s green Earth. Over a century ago a couple of bicycle mechanics invented the airplane. The first flight was only 123 feet, now you can get on an airliner and fly with 500 other people half way around the world on one tank of gas. 48 years ago my future wife and I were at Cape Canaveral and witnessed the launch of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on mankind’s first trip to the moon. And we are not capable of eliminating vector transmission of one of the smallest insects in the world. This oversight is not a question of ability, but will, in my opinion. It is imperative, we work smart and not hard. From my perspective, what the NGO community is doing is like watching an episode of the 1920’s film version of the Keystone Cops. To keep doing the same thing and expecting different results is, as Albert Einstein said, one definition of insanity. What is trending now are vaccines to accomplish elimination of vector diseases. Scientists have been working on this since World War 2 and it has not happened yet. These viruses and parasites are just too adaptable. In my opinion it is a fool’s errand. The Gates Foundation is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on this project that could be better utilized to simply break the transmission cycle. The cost of wide area vector suppression will only be a few pennies an acre, using the enhanced technology and application methods that I have developed over the years.

I would like to recommend a pilot program to prove concept. This should be done in the most endemic area of Nigeria, perhaps in the Southwestern part of the Country. Operationally it is imperative to find an insecticide that has not developed resistance. This presents a challenge because over the years every class of insecticide used in Africa has become resistant. I suspect we may have to formulate  a new compound for this effort, we are not going to win the war shooting blank ammunition. I have some ideas on how this can be accomplished and am confident it is possible.

The question, is the NGO community up to the challenge?

 

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OMS Assemblea Mondiale 2017

‘I envision a world in which everyone can lead healthy and productive lives, regardless of who they are or where they live. I believe the global commitment to sustainable development – enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals – offers a unique opportunity to address the social, economic and political determinants of health and improve the health and wellbeing of people everywhere’

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO’s Director General

by Daniele Dionisio

Membro, European Parliament Working Group on Innovation, Access to Medicines and Poverty-Related Diseases

Responsabile Progetto Policies for Equitable Access to Health – PEAH 

70ma Assemblea Mondiale OMS Risoluzioni Principali

 

Dal 22 al 31 maggio scorso Ginevra ha ospitato i lavori della 70ma Assemblea Mondiale OMS. Fervido di dibattito e di partecipazione, l’evento si è concluso con diverse risoluzioni adottate dagli stati membri, tra cui quella inerente la diagnosi, la terapia e la prevenzione delle malattie cancerose. Al riguardo, i governi sono stati chiamati all’implementazione dei programmi nazionali di prevenzione e controllo oncologico, oltre alla promozione di ricerca sul campo per cure basate sull’equità di accesso, mentre all’OMS è stata richiesta fattiva collaborazione con attori esterni per lo sviluppo di nuovi presidi farmacologici efficaci e alla portata di tutti.

Tra le altre risoluzioni adottate, è da menzionare quella relativa all’impegno dei governi per l’integrazione, la prevenzione  e l’assistenza per la sordità e la perdita dell’udito.

L’Assemblea ha inoltre eletto il nuovo Direttore Generale OMS nella persona  del Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, già ministro della salute e degli affari esteri in Etiopia.

Di seguito una selezione delle restanti decisioni assunte dall’Assemblea:

  • Incremento del 3% delle contribuzioni all’OMS da parte degli stati membri

Come effetto, il budget programmatico dell’Agenzia per il biennio 2018-2019 è salito a 4.421,5 milioni di dollari (inclusivi di 28 milioni di dollari corrispondenti al suddetto 3%). in linea con gli Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile (SDGs), ciò consentirà maggiori investimenti per il nuovo ‘Health Emergencies Programme’ di OMS (69,1 milioni di dollari) e per la lotta contro la resistenza microbica agli antibiotici (23,2 milioni di dollari).

Sebbene sensibilmente inferiore al 10% di incremento sperato dall’Agenzia, il compromesso ha comunque consentito ad OMS prospettive di maggiore operatività ed autonomia (con augurabile parziale svincolo dai condizionamenti imposti dai donatori privati). Sarà compito del Direttore Generale vigilare sulla continuità dei finanziamenti pubblici nel prossimo biennio.

  • Nuova agenda programmatica per l’ufficio regionale OMS per l’Africa

I nuovi programmi, volti alla soluzione di problematiche tuttora endemiche in molti Paesi del continente, includeranno particolare attenzione alla salute adolescenziale e alla realizzazione di efficaci piani di approccio alle emergenze sanitarie.

Contestualmente, l’OMS aiuterà I Paesi nello sviluppo di strategie e soluzioni basate sull’evidenza per le tossicodipendenze,  i disturbi mentali, le necessità di immunizzazione, e i servizi per la salute riproduttiva e sessuale nell’ambito dei programmi mirati agli adolescenti. L’Agenzia aprirà nel 2018-2019 centri qualificati per la formazione delle comunità in tema di emergenze sanitarie.

Le attività menzionate includeranno pragmatici indicatori di performance in ordine all’ appropriatezza e all’efficacia gestionale dei singoli programmi.

  • Implementazione dei piani di azione contro la resistenza microbica

Preso atto dei progressi, i delegati hanno condiviso la necessità che gli sforzi comprendano, oltre allo sviluppo di nuovi antibiotici, migliori capacità diagnostiche e di prevenzione, e il rafforzamento dei sistemi sanitari. Contestualmente, è stata adottata una risoluzione per il controllo della sepsi, quale condizione a rischio vita di solito determinata da infezioni batteriche. La risoluzione richiede ad OMS di esercitare azione guida sulla prevenzione e gestione degli eventi settici, e di supportare i Paesi nell’acquisizione e consolidamento di capacità, strategie e mezzi idonei alla riduzione dei casi di sepsi. OMS dovrà collaborare con le altre Agenzie delle Nazioni Unite anche al fine di realizzare terapie sicure e di qualità  e renderle equamente fruibili da tutti.

  • Accesso alle medicine

Questa tematica è stata oggetto di forti contrasti per il desiderio di alcuni stati membri (es. India) che fosse inserito nell’agenda assembleare il report finale dell’UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines del settembre 2016, nonostante l’ostilità di altri (es. USA, Regno Unito, Giappone). Alla fine l’Assemblea ha posposto la tematica all’ordine del giorno dell’ OMS Executive Board Meeting del prossimo gennaio 2018.

  • Collaborazione OMS/ILO/OECD

Gli stati membri hanno aderito a un piano quinquennale di collaborazione fra OMS, International Labor Organization (ILO) e Organization for Economic  Cooperation and Development (OECD) per migliorare il divario fra la realtà presente e le attese circa la forza lavoro necessaria per la salute pubblica, specialmente nei Paesi a risorse limitate.  Se le risorse umane sono indispensabili per gli SDGs correlati alla salute, difficilmente essi saranno conseguiti con l’attuale deficit di 17 milioni di operatori sanitari globali (medici, infermieri e ostetriche inclusi).

  • Polio

Preso atto che la sfida consiste nel come eradicare gli ultimi casi di polio pianificando nel contempo l’abbandono di programmi esclusivamente centrati sulla malattia, un ‘polio transition planning document’ è stato rilasciato da OMS durante i lavori assembleari. Il documento illustra potenziali rischi – finanziari, programmatici e di staff – connessi all’accantonamento della propria ‘Global Polio Eradication Initiative’ (GPEI). GPEI è infatti così embricata con altri programmi vaccinali (ma pure di sorveglianza e di ‘laboratory funding’) da prevedersi, in caso di dismissione, pesanti battute d’arresto in campagne vaccinali per morbillo, rosolia, difterite, tetano e pertosse, che sono essenziali nei Paesi in transizione dalla polio. L’Africa ne sarebbe particolarmente colpita poiché il 90 percento circa delle infrastrutture e staff dedicati alle vaccinazioni è finanziato tramite GPEI.

 

PER APPROFONDIRE

8 takeaways from the 70h World Health Assembly https://www.devex.com/news/8-takeaways-from-the-70th-world-health-assembly-90362

The next WHO director-general is Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus https://www.devex.com/news/the-next-who-director-general-is-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-90330

Nuovi Obiettivi di Sviluppo Sostenibile: Zoppi senza Radicali Svolte di ‘Governance’ http://www.peah.it/2015/10/nuovi-obiettivi-di-sviluppo-sostenibile-zoppi-senza-radicali-svolte-di-governance/

Tedros’ fundraising strategy for WHO, global health https://www.devex.com/news/tedros-fundraising-strategy-for-who-global-health-90364

WHO: polio transition planning http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA70/A70_14Add1-en.pdf

Global polio eradication initiative http://polioeradication.org/

THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL’S HIGH-LEVEL PANEL ON ACCESS TO MEDICINES REPORT: final report http://www.unsgaccessmeds.org/final-report/

Antibiotico-resistenza: l’impegno di OMS http://www.toscanamedica.org/95-toscana-medica/politiche-per-l-equo-accesso-alla-salute/491-antibiotico-resistenza-l-impegno-dell-oms

 

 

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Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 245

 

UN political forum opens with focus on eradicating poverty and forming partnerships 

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UNPO newsletter: June 2017 edition

Health Breaking News: Link 244

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 244

 

21.06.2017 ECOSOC humanitarian affairs segment 

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Sandoz v. Amgen: What The Court Settled, What It Didn’t, And What Might Come Next 

China-Backed AIIB Touts Growth, Sustainability 

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FAO warns of tilapia virus as outbreak spreads 

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World Refugee Day: WHO training enables Syrian doctors and nurses to provide health care in Turkey 

CALL TO CLOSE LIBYAN SLAVE MARKETS 

UNICEF names first goodwill ambassador who is a refugee 

ANDI 2017 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Project Based Training and Fellowship on Project and Intellectual Property (IP) Management for Health Technology Innovation in Africa 

Tobacco makers denounce ‘brand theft’ from plain packaging 

Taxing sugary drinks would boost productivity, not just health 

Novo Nordisk’s Diabetes Aid Programme and Issues of Insulin Access in Cameroon

To establish sustainable access to insulin in Cameroon, it is an imperative that reliance on pharmaceutical aid is revoked in favour of prioritising compulsory licensing and biosimilar usage. Until Novo Nordisk’s monopoly is challenged, patients will remain in uncertainty over access to insulin and essential equipment

By Rebecca Barlow-Noone*

Student, University of Leeds, UK

Novo Nordisk’s ‘Changing Diabetes’ Aid Programme Exacerbates Issues of Insulin Access, and Must End for Compulsory Licensing to be Effective

 

Aid programmes in lower income countries employed by insulin companies such as Novo Nordisk are driving dependency on donated, branded insulin and supplies, which inhibits sustainable access and blocks biosimilar uptake. Establishing dependence is the primary initiative, subordinating patient health for long-term corporate economic benefit. Whilst Novo Nordisk’s aid programmes have undeniably saved lives, true access to medicines can only be realised through policy changes within states. Compulsory licensing by governments, which involves forcibly accessing patented intellectual property to allow cheaper versions of drugs to be produced, is a key step towards ensuring insulin access is not prevented by exorbitant prices. By prioritising compulsory licensing of insulin biosimilars under World Trade Organisation guidelines, sustainable and affordable access may be achieved, as opposed to continued dependence on aid programme renewals and pharmaceutical monopoly.

Firstly, dependence on pharmaceutical charity establishes a dubious reliance on the continuation of aid, such as Novo Nordisk’s ‘Changing Diabetes in Children’ programme in Cameroon, where the company acts as the benefactor of healthcare. It is impossible to deny the impact the programme has had; for 7 years, around 695 people under the age of 21 have had access to healthcare, reducing mortality from 80% to 10% (Seidou, 2017). Yet as the 7 year term comes to an end, Novo Nordisk has remained remarkably silent on its future plans; leaving all children who have relied on the free healthcare with the prospect of losing life-saving treatment (Seidou, 2017). The same uncertainty occurred in 2014, after which Novo Nordisk decided to reinstate funding (Novo Nordisk, 2014); yet without a published set of clear aims, diabetes patients are left in a cycle of anxiety, where ‘donated products could stop at any moment, with no sustainability access plan for patients’, according to T1International’s Elizabeth Rowley (2017a). Not only is this an unsustainable method of providing care, it puts an unnecessary strain upon people already suffering a challenging health condition (Rowley, 2017b).

The reason given for the 3-year programme extension in 2014 was given by Novo Nordisk’s executive officer, Lars Rebien Sørensen, who gave the vague assertion that the company aims to ‘ensure the best possible scenario for the programme to be sustainable’ (Novo Nordisk, 2014, 9). Whilst figures on the number of clinics established and healthcare professionals trained emblazon the programme booklet, it gives no details on how access to insulin and essential medical care will continue: 9 clinics and 675 trainees (Novo Nordisk, 2014, p.14) unfortunately offers little comfort to patients when no information on sustainable supplies and insulin provision is mentioned, which people with type 1 diabetes need to survive.

Why is Novo Nordisk so impermeable with its long-term plans? One answer could be found in past instances of monopolistic drug marketing, where the market control was exploited to maintain prices and prevent compulsory licence uptake. For example in 2007, Abbott’s monopoly of antiretrovirals in Thailand was challenged by the government’s decision to issue a compulsory licence, in accordance with WTO law. As a result, Thailand was put on a US watch list for showing a ‘weakening of respect for patents’ (USTR 2007a, p.27, cited in Condon and Sinha, 2008, p.161) and their US Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status was removed for 3 products (Yamabhai et. al., 2011). In addition, Abbott threatened to block the compulsory licence by not registering the patent and not selling the drug Aluvia (Condon and Sinha, 2008, p.162). Consequently, the Thai government was pressured to not issue a compulsory licence in return for slightly reduced drug prices at 1,000 USD annually per capita (Condon and Sinha, 2008, p.162); thus maintaining control of the market and eliminating generic competition.

Devastatingly, this is a common trope amongst pharmaceutical companies, where political and economic pressures override the scope of WTO patent laws. The developments in Cameroon and other countries involved in Novo Nordisk’s programme suggest a similar pathway is being undertaken. With infrastructure in place but cheaper alternatives to Novo Nordisk’s current donations of branded insulin unmentioned in programme documents (Novo Nordisk, 2014), the underlying economic interests of the company seem evident through the company’s ominous lack of transparency. This emphasises the imperative to establish alternative methods for equal, long-term diabetes care access before Novo Nordisk imposes charges for its goods. This must be done through the development of biosimilars and forming the political infrastructure to prevent pharmaceutical leverage from affecting compulsory licensing decisions, as was the case in Thailand.

In the case of Cameroon, compulsory licenses have already been issued for antiretrovirals in 2005 (Gardiner, 2005). This means there is hope the same can be done for insulin if the government recognises the legality and necessity to protect the lives of people with diabetes in the country. Furthermore, the government must remain resilient against US threats to trade in response to compromising pharmaceutical patents. Yamabhai et. al. found no evidence that the withdrawal of US GSP in Thailand affected foreign investment (2011, p.9), a fact which must be emphasised in Cameroon to demonstrate the economic viability of an insulin compulsory license.

To establish sustainable access in Cameroon, it is an imperative that reliance on pharmaceutical aid is phased out in favour of prioritising compulsory licensing and biosimilar usage. Until Novo Nordisk’s monopoly is challenged, patients will remain in uncertainty over access to insulin and essential equipment. Existing compulsory licensing legislation must be appropriately used and pharmaceutical pressure must be prevented to ensure sustainable biosimilar insulin access for all in the country.

 

Bibliography

Condon, B. J. and Sinha, T. 2008. Global Lessons from the AIDS Pandemic: Economic, Financial, Legal and Political Implications. Heidelburg: Springer-Verlag.

Gardiner, T. 2005. Email to Urbain Olanguena Awono, 8 January. Available from: http://www.essentialinventions.org/docs/cameroon/clcameroon8jan05en.html

Novo Nordisk, 2014. 10,000+ Children 2009-2014: The Changing Diabetes in Children Programme. [Leaflet]. Bagsværd: Novo Nordisk A/S. Available from: http://www.novonordisk.com/content/dam/Denmark/HQ/sustainability/commons/documents/CDIC_10000_children_2009-2014_ELECTRONIC.pdf

Rowley, E. 2017a. Interview with R. Barlow-Noone. 12 June, Leeds.

Rowley, E. 2017b. T1International Advocacy in Uganda. 6 June 2017. T1International. [Online]. [Accessed 27 June 2017]. Available from: https://www.t1international.com/blog/2017/06/06/t1international-uganda/

Seidou, T. 2017. Cameroon: Hundreds of type 1 diabetes to lose hope. 6 May 2017. Cameroon Concord. [Online]. [Accessed 5 June 2017]. Available from: http://cameroon-concord.com/health/8290-cameroon-hundreds-of-type-1-diabetes-to-lose-hope

Yamabhai, I., Mohara, A., Tantivess, S., Chaisiri, K. and Teerawattananon, Y. 2011. Government use licenses in Thailand: an assessment of the health and economic impacts. Globalisation and Health. 7(28), pp.1-12. [Online]. [Accessed 11 June 2017]. Available from: https://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-8603-7-28

 

 

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*Short Bio: After being diagnosed with T1 diabetes, I have worked as a volunteer for AYUDA (an international diabetes education charity), where I taught public sessions on diabetes management in the Dominican Republic, and provided insulin to those in greatest need. I had previously been a student of Arabic at the University of Exeter with the aim of working in international aid, but seeing the extreme medical poverty in the DR led me to focus my path. I am now studying on a science foundation year at the University of Leeds to get on to the Medical Sciences degree programme, with aims to work in international medical aid/insulin access

Health Breaking News: Link 243

Health Breaking News Links, as part of the research project PEAH (Policies for Equitable Access to Health), aim to focus on the latest challenges by trade and governments rules to equitable access to health in resource-limited settings

Health Breaking News: Link 243

 

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The Injurious TRIPS Relationship between Human Rights and Access to Medicine in Uganda

The issue to ponder about is who is this TRIPS meant to protect? Is it protecting the LDCs or the Developed Countries? The views I am trapping out there imply that the Agreement intends to protect creativity and the manufacturers so that they can expand their potential and motivate them in research

The least developed countries, Uganda inclusive need time to overcome the constraints preventing them from creating viable technological bases and Intellectual Property (IP) Laws

The IP Laws in Uganda are so muddled that they curtail the availability of affordable generic drugs in the country. Uganda as a nation would use a good training to the officers of the law in the IP section and also there is a need for increased materials on IP to be circulated amongst the health rights activists and advocates

By Bukenya Denis Joseph*

Human Rights Research Documentation Centre (HURIC) Kampala, Uganda

The Injurious TRIPS Relationship between Human Rights and Access to Medicine in Uganda

 

The WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) imposes on countries the compulsion to implement certain standards of patent protection, copyrights, trademarks and other forms of Intellectual Property. It is an agreement intended to enforce intellectual property (IP) rights globally. The Agreement has flexibilities which are handed out to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and those in near assemblage. LDCs are given policy space to overcome capacity constraints in the hopes that they will be able to develop a viable technological and legal base to start enforcing TRIPS.

The issue to ponder about is who is this TRIPS meant to protect? Is it protecting the LDCs or the Developed Countries? The views I am trapping out there imply that the Agreement intends to protect creativity and the manufacturers so that they can expand their potential and motivate them in research. Then one would pose the question as to why then do we have organizations like World Health Organization (WHO)? Is this not their work? I stand to be corrected.  We all know that the WHO mandate is to ensure that they work around research to formulate new vaccines and treatment for all sorts of ailments in abide to protect the member states from failed access to medicines as a human rights obligation to them. This is what the member states pay for in their assessed contributions. So the issue of lack of creative research to formulate cure should not be used as an excuse to protect the Developed Countries.

Uganda among other Countries can only do so much but the situation is heading for worse stakes. There was a problem with the period of the last extension of TRIPS granted to LDCs of which Uganda is a member. It was set to expire on the 1st day of July 2013. Uganda and her contemporaries expressed dissatisfaction at the times set. The arguments fronted, highlighted the impractical time edge of 5-7 years set for LDCs. With the help of activists and health rights advocates around the globe, this was a battle that was vanquished. The least developed countries, Uganda inclusive need time to overcome the constraints preventing them from creating viable technological bases and Intellectual Property Laws [1].

Owing from the above and superlatively speaking IP Laws are at a critical intersection in regard to the right to health in Uganda. The law inadvertently failing to realize that access to medicines is grossly affected by policy issues of an implied pull system other than the push system which involves requests for needed drugs at health centers made according to the demand. This has caused unwarranted access to medicines issues like drug stoke outs in the rural poor communities of Uganda. Looking at the Uganda HIV and TB incidences that are rampant with a massive reliance on the importation of generic drugs to meet the needs of the population, the IP Laws in Uganda are so muddled that they curtail the availability of affordable generic drugs in the country. Uganda as a nation would use a good training to the officers of the law in the IP section and also there is a need for increased materials on IP to be circulated amongst the health rights activists and advocates.

The laws in more ways than one have interrupted with access through asphyxiation of the allowed IP flexibilities in Uganda today. Sometimes the problem arises from the misinterpretation of the IP laws by the officers of the law and corruption which has infested the system of law enforcement.

Uganda being one of the poorest nations in the world today, has a lot to benefit from being protected from opening its weak economy to monopoly protections of IP-based multinational cooperation. Without these flexibilities, strict laws would thus inhibit the wide dissemination of generic medicines to populations here that need them the most. These laws would also render many essential public goods together with educational resources and green technologies unaffordable to the common man.

In the nutshell the human rights related aspects of trade need to be treated with caution that they do not hurt right to health. All people by virtue of the fact that they are human, should have access to vital drugs for survival like antiretroviral therapy. The taunts stood by big pharmaceutical companies enforcing their patents in this side of the hemisphere with lots of LDCs like Uganda, should be halted lest the cause of an escalated infringement on human rights due to the lack of access to affordable healthcare. This needs to be done by engaging government for policy reform and eliciting support from other facets of civil society.

Despite extension of the TRIPS flexibilities, there is still a lot of work to do. There is full need to create legal infrastructure around intellectual property law and speed up the process of overcoming capacity constraints by use of establishing a sound and viable technological base.

 

[1] Access to Medicines health law, Intellectual property, Lipi, Mishra, Trade, Uganda

 


*Bukenya Denis Joseph, a Legal practitioner with a bachelor’s degree from Makerere University faculty of Law and post graduate with the award of a Master of Arts in Human Rights from the Uganda Martyrs University. A degree with the International People’s Health’s University online (IPOL). Coordinator of the Human Rights Research Documentation Centre and also coordinating the People’s Health University Uganda Circle and also working as the Sub-regional leader of the East and Southern circle of the People’s Health Movement.