Uganda: Property Rights Leave Access to Medicine Wanting

14 November 2011

Kampala — Experts have decried the sluggish stride Uganda is making to utilise provisions for flexibilities under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement (Trips), saying such failures will hamper access to medicine in the near future.

The experts highlighted the need to incorporate the flexibilities under the Patent Law to comply with obligations under the World Trade Organisation on protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. "Almost 90 per cent of drugs in Uganda are imports, most of which are generic versions which need protection from patent owners, who may want to stop their sale in a bid to sell their expensive brand name drugs instead; Ugandans would not be able to access cheap drugs," said Mr Moses Mulumba, a lawyer with Centre for Health Human Rights and Development.

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