Africa: HIV/Aids in Africa: WTO Declaration On Public Health is a Step in the Right Direction

19 November 2001
Constituency for Africa (Washington, DC)
press release By Chinua Akukwe And Melvin Foote

Washington, DC — The ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ended in Doha, Qatar with a declaration on urgent global social, economic, and trade issues. However, a major stumbling block to pre-Doha consultations was the dispute over the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and public health, especially as it relates to the raging epidemics of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Africa is the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic with more than 25 million people living with the disease and at least 17 million people already dead.

We are pleased that wise heads prevailed in Doha with the separate declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health. We are particularly gratified with the declaration that the "TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent Members from taking measures to public health." The ability of independent nations to protect the public health of their citizens and to facilitate access to essential medicines and goods should not be in dispute in the evolving ethos of globalization.

We are particularly pleased with Section 5, item C of the declaration that expressly states that "Each Member has the right to determine what constitutes a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme emergency, it being understood that public health crises, including those relating to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics, can represent a national emergency or circumstances of extreme urgency." Africa with its endemic health problems should benefit maximally from this declaration as it confronts the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.

The civil society groups in both developed and developing nations that worked diligently on TRIPS and public health deserve special commendation.

They have shown that it is possible to reshape international public policy by sophisticated intellectual and organizational tactics. The subsequent negotiations and rounds of trade talks call for continued vigilance and participation of civil society groups.

We look forward to greater cooperation and understanding between developed and developing nations regarding TRIPS and public health. The cost of inaction is substantial in Africa. According to Peter Piot, the executive director of the UN agency for HIV/AIDS, a 15 year-old teenager in South Africa or Zambia faces a lifetime risk of HIV infection and death from AIDS of over 50 percent without urgent remedial action. The war in Sierra Leone left 12,000 children without families while AIDS has already orphaned five times that number. By 2010, South Africa, the economic powerhouse of Africa (40 percent of the region's economic output) will likely face a real gross domestic product 17 percent lower than it would have been without AIDS. By 2010, 40 million AIDS orphans may live in Africa. The list goes on and on.

Finally, we believe that equitable and effective access to public health in Africa will require greater spirit of cooperation and action by the following key stakeholders: African governments; Western democracies, including the United States; Research and generic pharmaceutical companies; Multilateral agencies, and; Civil society organizations. Time is of the essence.

Selected References 1. World Trade Organization. Ministerial Declaration. Ministerial Conference, Fourth Session, Doha, 9-14 November 2001. WT/MIN (01)/DEC/W/1, November 14, 2001. (O1-5769).

2. World Trade Organization. Declaration on the TRIPS AGREEMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH. Ministerial Conference, Fourth Session, Doha, 9-14 November 2001.

WT/MIN (01)/DEC/W/2, November 14, 2001. (O1-5770).

3. Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director. AIDS and Human Security.

Statement at the United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan, October 2, 2001.

4. Chinua Akukwe, Melvin Foote. HIV/AIDS in Africa: Time to Stop the Killing Fields. Foreign Policy in Focus Journal, Vol. 6, No. 15, May 2001(http:www.fpif.org).

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