[Ip-health] (AP) Malaysia: AIDS Could Hurt Economy

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

<SNIP>

Ramlee said the country was "committed to making antiretroviral therapy
affordable and accessible to all who need it" and had "taken courageous
steps before this in 'breaking' the patent law by importing cheaper,
generic antiretroviral drugs."

He said Malaysia only "recently" began its pilot project to provide
free antiretroviral drugs at government clinics, with an aim to reach
5,000 by year's end.

Ramlee told reporters it previously cost the government around $606 per
person monthly for antiretroviral drug treatment, but said the
introduction of a locally produced version of the treatment brought the
cost down to around $41, enabling the government to provide it for
free.

In 2004, the Malaysian government enacted a law allowing it to import
generic versions of AIDS drugs for "noncommercial" or nonprofit
distribution. This followed a World Trade Organization agreement the
previous year allowing countries facing a public health emergency to
issue "compulsory licenses" to manufacture generic versions of patented
drugs.

But non-governmental organizations providing care to AIDS patients and
activists have said if Malaysia and the United States conclude a free
trade agreement being negotiated now, the cost of generic drugs could
rise dramatically under patent protection laws. The two countries hope
to sign a pact by mid-2007.

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Nov. 30, 2006, 12:23PM
Malaysia: AIDS Could Hurt Economy

By EN-LAI YEOH Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia =97 The spread of AIDS in Malaysia could wipe out
economic gains the country has made over the last 50 years, a top
health official warned Thursday.

If stronger steps are not taken to stop the spread of AIDS, Malaysia
could be swept by an epidemic, which will strike people in the prime of
their lives and devastate the work force, said the Health Ministry's
director of disease control, Ramlee Rahmat.

"This may wipe out all the developmental gains we have achieved since
independence" in 1957, Ramlee said in a speech at the opening of a
U.N.-organized conference to commemorate World AIDS Day Dec. 1.

Three people die from AIDS-related illness every day in Malaysia, the
Health Ministry said in June. About 73,000 Malaysians have been
infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Three-quarters of people
with HIV are intravenous drug users and 7 percent are women.

Ramlee said the country was "committed to making antiretroviral therapy
affordable and accessible to all who need it" and had "taken courageous
steps before this in 'breaking' the patent law by importing cheaper,
generic antiretroviral drugs."

He said Malaysia only "recently" began its pilot project to provide
free antiretroviral drugs at government clinics, with an aim to reach
5,000 by year's end.

Ramlee told reporters it previously cost the government around $606 per
person monthly for antiretroviral drug treatment, but said the
introduction of a locally produced version of the treatment brought the
cost down to around $41, enabling the government to provide it for
free.

In 2004, the Malaysian government enacted a law allowing it to import
generic versions of AIDS drugs for "noncommercial" or nonprofit
distribution. This followed a World Trade Organization agreement the
previous year allowing countries facing a public health emergency to
issue "compulsory licenses" to manufacture generic versions of patented
drugs.

But non-governmental organizations providing care to AIDS patients and
activists have said if Malaysia and the United States conclude a free
trade agreement being negotiated now, the cost of generic drugs could
rise dramatically under patent protection laws. The two countries hope
to sign a pact by mid-2007.

The World Health Organization's representative for Malaysia, Dr. Han
Tieru, said that instead of being concerned about the cost of the drug,
health workers must worry about the fact that only 10 percent of the
people with the virus are currently under treatment.

On Thursday, the United Nations also prodded the Muslim-majority
Southeast Asian nation to pump more funds into curbing the spread of
AIDS.

"The undeniable fact is that HIV/AIDS numbers are continuing to rise.
The numbers continue to go up exponentially," U.N. resident coordinator
for Malaysia, Richard Leete, told reporters.

"We need to campaign the government to put more resources into the
fight."

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
CPTech
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@cptech.org