Kampala — Activists have urged Parliament to pass the Industrial Property Bill as a matter of urgency to enable Ugandans access medicine at affordable price.

As the rest of the world commemorated the Intellectual Property Rights Day yesterday, the Executive Director of Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development, Ms Rosette Mutambi, said the country needs its local binding policies and laws on issues of intellectual property before they are bound by the World Trade Organisation Intellectual Property agreement.

She said after 2016, all signatories to the WTO have to incorporate obligations such as parallel importation, adding that even though this may not be urgent now, time is running out. Uganda is signatory to the World Trade organisation. Reports show that a number of people cannot access medicine in the country.

The Bill was last tabled before Parliament in 2008