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South African Activists Make Concerns Heard At African IP Forum
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Photo 1 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans FrontierèsTreatment Action Campaign activists have picketed at the Africa Intellectual Property (IP) Forum - demanding change to South Africas Intellectual property laws for the better and to increase universal access to healthcare and safeguard the interests of public health - and handed over a memorandum to Rob Davies, Minister of Trade and Industry, before his keynote address. -
Photo 2 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans Frontierès"Fix the patent laws!" is one of the messages expressed by the activists at a briefing facilitated by Médecins Sans Frontierès' Leena Menghaney, in preparations for the Africa IP forum held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. -
Photo 3 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans FrontierèsPeople living with HIV demonstrated to highlight the importance of public health interests during this IP discussion. -
Photo 4 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans FrontierèsActivists held "I am worth more than a patent" posters showing their disapproval of the laws. -
Photo 5 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans FrontierèsMinister Davies responded that the draft policy was now in its final stages and would be released for public comment soon.
"There needs to be both incentives for innovation as well as ensuring public health and access to medicine," he said. -
Photo 6 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans FrontierèsSouth African patients are paying much more for life-saving drugs than those in other developing nations.
In India, generic linezolid is available for less than R10 a tablet," said Leena Menghaney of the Delhi branch of the MSF Access Campaign. -
Photo 7 of 7Credit: Médecins Sans Frontierès"In South Africa, Pfizer has a patent on linezolid and to get it for patients in need, MSF pays R660 per tablet. This is outrageous. Fixing South Africa's IP laws could change that," Menghaney said.
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