Doha Declaration on life-saving drugs for poor countries not happening

Nov 15 2006

Despite the fact that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) granted a special exemption five years ago, in order that poor countries could access life-saving drug, poor people in developing countries are still dying needlessly because global pharmaceutical giants continue to monopolise drugs for diseases such as cancer and AIDS.

The declaration by the WTO in 2001 intended that rich countries should put patients before profits via its Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement; but most charity groups say rich nations are taking little or no action towards meeting their obligations under the "Doha Declaration", leaving millions without affordable medicines.

What is more the charity Oxfam has accused rich countries, particularly the United States, in particular of bullying developing countries into imposing stricter patent rules in order to preserve pharmaceutical monopolies.

Oxfam says these countries are reneging on their promise to improve public health in developing countries by adopting "selfish" protectionist policies.

Health activists say that access to cheap generic drugs is vital if poor countries are going to be able to effectively fight against killer diseases such as AIDS and malaria.

They say what appeared to be a breakthrough five years ago with the agreement, has not been translated into life-saving treatments.

In defence the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations has argued that access to medicines was not the major issue affecting health in the developing world and many patented drugs are available at cost or even for free in poor countries.

According to the manufacturers the problem comes down to inadequate infrastructure and a dearth of hospitals, clinics, medical equipment and trained healthcare workers.

A clash over patents in the developing world has been highlighted by high-profile cases over disputes concerning among others the cancer drug Glivec, made by Switzerland's Novartis.

An Indian court in January rejected the company's patent application for Glivec, but Novartis continues to argue that the principle of intellectual property protection must be safeguarded if innovation is to flourish.

A similar battle is taking place between U.S. drugs giant Pfizer which produces heart disease drug Norvasc and the Philippine government which has developed its own patented version, almost 90 per cent cheaper.

According to the World Health Organisation, 74 per cent of AIDS medicine is still under a monopoly, 77 per cent of Africans have no access to AIDS treatment and 30 per cent of the world has no access to essential medicines.