[Ip-health] WHA 57.14, World Health Assembly Resolution on HIV/AIDS

[thiru@cptech.org]

The World Health Assembly resolution on HIV/AIDS has been posted on the
WHO website (click on the url below).  The title of the resolution is:
"Scaling up treatment and care within a coordinated and comprehensive
response to HIV/AIDS." Here are some responses to the outcome of the
resolution and some selected extracts from the resolution.

Thirukumaran Balasubramaniam
Consumer Project on Technology
Geneva

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http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA57/A57_R14-en.pdf


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"For the WHO to get serious about the scale-up of AIDS treatment, it
will have to get organized on the patent issues.  We need an essential
patent poor for AIDS, like the essential aircrafts patent pool that
Roosevelt set up in 1917.   Next, the United States should stop asking
smaller developing countries to accept anti-Doha Declaration trade
agreements in return  for market access to the US.  In trade agreements,
we need a new paradigm for the next century.  We have to replace TRIPS
plus with R&D plus."

    James Love, President, Essential Inventions

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"Overall, the resolution on HIV/AIDS was a strong one, and a victory for
supporters of prequalification. While it's hard to say what its wider
significance will be, the United States has clearly been forced to
recognise the near-universal support for WHO prequalification. The explicit
reference to the need to preserve TRIPS/Doha flexibilities is also a
positive step."


    Sean Healy
    Information Officer
    Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines
    M=E9decins Sans Fronti=E8res

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"It is striking that the WHO Member States have given a warning signal
that negotiations in bilateral trade agreements can offset the
flexibilities available to countries to establish safeguard measures like
compulsory licenses for over-riding patents.  This warning signal should
catalyse health and trade officials and health and human rights activists
to be alert, and to ensure either that bilateral agreements do not contain
an IP section or that such a section does not detract from the
TRIPS-consistent flexibilities now available to developing countries to
establish pro-health measures."

    Martin Khor
    Director
    Third World Network

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(Extracts from the resolution)

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2. URGES Member States, as a matter of priority:

<SNIP>

(4) to consider, whenever necessary, adapting national legislation in
order to use to the full the flexibilities contained in the Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights;

<SNIP>

(6) to encourage that bilateral trade agreements take into account the
flexibilities contained in the WTO TRIPS Agreement and recognized by the
Doha Ministerial Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health;



3. REQUESTS the Director-General:

<SNIP>

(3) to take measures to improve access of developing countries to
pharmaceutical and diagnostic products to diagnose, treat and manage
HIV/AIDS, including by strengthening WHO=92s prequalification project;

(4) to ensure that the prequalification review process and the results of
inspection and assessment reports of the listed products, aside from
proprietary and confidential information, are made publicly available;