[Ip-health] Resolution at EU Parliament

[Krikorian Gaëlle]

Here is a the Resolution put by the European Parliament for World AIDS
day. As well as 4 amendments pushed by the left parties.
Some good stuff, some too weak stuff…
In the negotiation process some important things about the free trade
agreements, India and the 2005 deadline or R&D have disappeared  or
been weaken…

GK

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RESOLUTION
on World AIDS Day


The European Parliament,

-	having regard to World AIDS Day on 1 December 2004 and its theme:
Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS

-	given the Commission Working Paper on a coordinated and integrated
approach to combat HIV/AIDS within the EU and its neighbourhood,

-	given the Dublin declaration on the Partnership to fight HIV/AIDS in
Europe and Central Asia adopted in February 2004,

-	given the June 2001 UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the
on-going UNAIDS programme,

-	given the goal of a reduction of the contagion by 2015 set in the
Millennium Declaration signed by the Heads of State and Government in
September 2000


A.	Whereas the totally number of people living with HIV/AIDS rose in
2004 in every region to reach an estimated level of 39.4 million with
every increasing infection rates among women

B.	Whereas, in 1997, 41% of HIV-positive people were women and girls,
but today around half of all people living with HIV/AIDS world-wide are
women and girls, and in sub-Saharan Africa the figure is 57%; and
whereas so far there are 40 million people infected with HIV and
approximately 90% of them are from developing countries

C.	Whereas, in view of the gender inequalities associated with
HIV/AIDS, finding vaccines that are available to women and young girls
before the onset of sexual behaviour must be a budgetary and political
priority; stresses that women must be involved in all appropriate
clinical research, including vaccine trials

D.	Whereas the proportion of newly reported HIV cases in Western Europe
has doubled since 1995 with some of the highest rates of new infections
to found in some of the new Member States and those third countries
that share our Eastern border

E.	Whereas increased investment in research and development with a view
to more effective therapeutic and preventive medicines is vital to
securing the long-term success of anti-HIV/AIDS action

F.	Whereas it is crucial to promote safe sex practices and microbicides
which are considered a promising prevention tool

G.	Whereas sexual and reproductive health rights are intrinsically
linked to the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other poverty diseases, and
whereas the Millennium development goals (MDG) in general and those on
promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child
mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS in
particular will only be achieved if sexual and reproductive health
issues are put at the heart of the MDT's agenda

H.	Whereas recent UNAID figures also point to increased levels of
infection throughout the EU, particularly in the 15-25 age group

I.	Whereas pharmaceutical companies must look at ways to reduce prices,
since developing countries cannot afford the anti-viral drugs available
in the industrialised world

J.	Whereas in some countries HIV/AIDS- related costs will soon absorb
over half the health budget

K.	Whereas insufficient action against the HIV/AIDS epidemic could
result in an unprecedented crisis, in particular in Southern Africa,
undermining not only health and development but also national security
and political stability in a number of countries

L.	Whereas the WTO General Council adopted a waiver to article 31(f) of
the TRIPS Agreement allowing WTO members to grant compulsory licences
for manufacturing and distribution of patented pharmaceuticals intended
for export to third countries with insufficient or no manufacturing
capacity in the sector, which should increase the accessibility of low
cost medicines in those countries

M.	Whereas many developing countries will lose the possibility of
producing generic medicines with the entry into force of TRIPS rules on
1 January 2005

1.	Reaffirms the rights of every human being to have access to medical
care and treatment

2.	Recalls that if the trend of ever higher numbers of HIV-infected is
not reversed, there will be no chance of achieving the overarching
Millennium Development Goal, aimed at eradicating extreme poverty and
hunger by 2015 and reducing by half the proportion of people living on
less than a dollar a day and suffering from hunger

3.	Stresses that the strategies needed to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic
effectively must include a comprehensive approach to prevention,
education, care and treatment and must include the technologies
currently in use, expanded access to treatment, as well as the urgent
development of vaccines and microbicides

4.	Is concerned also by the increasing rates of infections in some
societies that do, a priori, have full access to all the necessary
information about prevention and risk avoidance and in particular, in
the 15-25 age group

5.	Notes that the international AIDS Vaccine Initiative has drawn
attention to the lack of funding from the private sector; calls
therefore on private donors to join with charitable and public sectors
to develop vaccines, especially in Africa

6.	Calls on the EU and its Member States to dramatically increase
funding for the development of microbicides, given that conservative
estimates suggest that the introduction of even a partially effective
microbicides would result in 2.5 million averted cases of HIV over 3
years, and that an effective microbicide could be development by the
end of the decade with the necessary financial support

7.	Stresses that access to medicines, including vaccines and diagnostic
products, is a crucial importance, and that bringing down the costs of
such treatment should be one of the priorities; therefore calls on the
pharmaceutical industry to reduce prices

8.	Calls on the Commission and the Member States to increase their
commitments to research and development for more effective therapeutic
and preventive medicines, in order to secure the long-term success of
anti- HIV/AIDS action; in particular, calls on the EU  and its Member
States to mobilise additional funding to enable effective partnerships
with the pharmaceutical companies for the development of vaccines

9.	Notes with great interest the recent finding that a relatively cheap
antibiotic (co-trimoxazole) has almost halved the rate of AIDS-related
deaths in  African children.  Although the drug does not combat HIV, it
is clearly instrumental in preventing secondary infections which kill
many HIV-positive children with weakened immunity at an annual cost of
just $7-12 per child compared to $300 for the cheapest antiretrovirals

10.	Regrets that for many years in the past, prejudiced views in some
sectors as regards the use of condoms prevented full and necessary
attention being directed against HIV/AIDS

11.	Calls on the United Nations and its Members to increase
dramatically the visibility and prominence of sexual and reproductive
health issues during the review of the Millennium Development Goals
next year

12.	Calls on the EU to continue to prioritise sexual and reproductive
health issues through funding programmes on family planning, and in
particular to influence sexual behaviour through risk-reduction
strategies, to educate young people, and especially girls and young
women, about STIs and HIV, and to encourage condom usage with other
contraceptive methods and combat any misinformation spread on the
effectiveness of condoms

13.	Calls on the Commission to encourage developing countries to
restore and develop public services in basic areas such as water access
and sanitation, health and education

14.	Stresses that HIV/AIDS cannot be dealt with in isolation and often
goes hand in hand with other diseases such as tuberculosis, Hepatitis
C, and mental disorders such as depression, and that care and treatment
solutions need to be pursued for all these

15.	Urges the Commission to create specific legislative instruments to
encourage R&D on neglected and poverty diseases,  and to ensure that
the results of the research need the specific needs of developing
countries and contribute towards a swift improvement in the public
health situation

16.	Calls on all involved partners to speed up measures for the
authorisation of new drugs and vaccines and to ensure that patients in
poorer European countries also have access to treatment at affordable
prices

17.	Regrets the lack of palliative care for those dying of AIDS and
urges that the palliative care teams be trained and supported

18.	Welcomes the Commission proposal setting up a uniform framework for
issuing compulsory licences authorising production and exportation of
cheaper medicines to the eligible countries in need

19.	Insists on the importance of ensuring that the objective of
providing developing countries with affordable medicines is not
jeopardised by accessively restrictive or cumbersome procedures nor by
re-importation into the European Union of pharmaceutical products
manufactures under compulsory licences

20.	Urges developed countries to adopt a waiver on the application of
the TRIPS Agreement in this field so as to enable the pharmaceutical
companies in developing countries to continue to provide generic
low-cost medicines

21.	Calls on the EU to develop policies and programmes in this area,
and asks the Commission to ensure that increased resources are made
available within the financial perspective for 2007-20013 to support a
significant scaled up response to HIV/AIDS including by making a
multi-annual commitment to the Global Fund against HIV/AIDS T.B. and
malaria

22.	Firmly believes that the EU has a significant role to play for both
its own citizens and those of third countries in the global fights
against the disease.  Welcomes in this respect the already existing EU
funding for research projects, exchanges of best practice, the
involvement of NGOs particularly those best placed to address the
specific challenges faced by vulnerable groups such as immigrants,
sex-workers etc.

23.	Welcomes the decision by the UK, Sweden, and The Netherlands to
agree to the request from many NGOs to make additional contributions to
the Global Fund

24.	Calls on the EU Member States, and particularly on the Italian
Government, to respect their commitment to donate financial resources
to the Global Fund and to ensure the continuation of all ongoing
actions

25.	Calls on the new Commission to ensure that funding continues to
plug the "decency gap" left by the US withdrawal of UNFPA funding, not
only in the developing world but also in Eastern Europe and Central
Asia


26.	Welcomes the Commission's statement of 23 November 2004 on the
presentation in April 2005 of an action plan to fight AIDS and looks
forward to concrete actions

27.	Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council,
the Commission, the Member States, the Co-presidents of the ACP-EU
Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the WHO and UNAIDS

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  EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2004	 	2009

AMENDMENT ##
by Agnoletto, Figueiredo, Morgantini on behalf of the GUE/NGL
Joint motion for a resolution
by the AIDS-DAY

	urges the Commission and the Member states to provide the Global Fund
to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) with contribution to at
least up to 1 billion Euro on a sustained basis; recalls the commitment
of the G8 and the rest of the international community to reach an
overall target of annual expenditure between 7 and 10 billion;


  EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2004	 	2009

AMENDMENT
by _#Agnoletto, Figueiredo, Morgantini#_#on Behalf of the GUE/NGL ###
Joint motion for a resolution
by the AIDS-DAY

	urges the European pharmaceutical industry to dedicate a significant
part of its resources to anti-infectious medicines and other essential
drugs; urges of example Sanofi-Aventis, the biggest European
pharmaceutical group to take on research on this disease instead of
disperse the team of researcher that has special knowledge on the
matter

  EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2004	 	2009

AMENDMENT
by Agnoletto, Figueiredo, Morgantini on behalf of the GUE/NGL
Joint motion for a resolution
by the AIDS-DAY

	urges the Commission to work on a proposal in order to better
safeguard the public interest in the orientation of research,
development and  production of medicines and  encourage public
research, development and production of drugs, in order to cut prices
and reduce medical expenses for public health services and to guarantee
the right of universal access to essential medical treatment and
medicines;


  EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2004	 	2009

AMENDMENT
by Agnoletto, Figueiredo, Morgantini
Joint motion for a resolution
by the AIDS-DAY

	urges the Commission to oppose both at the WTO level and in its
bilateral relations, the inclusion by the United States in their
bilateral agreement with developing countries of provisions that oblige
those countries to renounce to the right recognised in the Doha
declaration to use or import generic drugs necessary for the public
health of its population; urges the EU to abstain itself from making
any step in this same direction.