[Ip-health] FromGeneva: Libertarian think tank (IPN) throws drinks/canapes bash on eve of World Health Assembly

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

      http://fromgeneva.blogspot.com/2006/05/libertarian-think-tank-ipn-thr=
ows.html


      Libertarian think tank (IPN) throws drinks/canapes bash on eve of
      World Health Assembly

12 May 2006
Thiru Balasubramaniam

The libertarian think tank, International Policy Network (IPN)
<http://www.policynetwork.net/main/index.php> an active defender
<http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,16781,1673105,00.html> of GMO
foods, water privatization and the tobacco industry, and a constant foe
of of efforts to control global warming is hosting a drinks and canap=E9s
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canape> reception at the five-star Hotel
Intercontinental in Geneva on the eve of the World Health Assembly
(Sunday, 21 May 2006) from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM.

The swanky reception will be preceded by a panel moderated by Julian
Morris, Executive Director of the International Policy Network.
Panellists include: Bibek Debroy from PHD Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (India), Barun Mitra from the Liberty Institute (India), Jasson
Urbach, Africa Fighting Malaria (South Africa) and Philip Stevens,
International Policy Network (UK). The IPN seminar will focus on
"intellectual property, innovation and health" and the panellists wil
"provide alternative perspectives on the intellectual property debate
that members of the World Health Assembly will consider during its 59th
annual meeting (22-27 May)". These "alternative perspectives" will no
doubt parrot the findings of the Civil Society Report on Intellectual
Property, Innovation and Health
<http://www.policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/Civil_Society_text_web.pdf>,
a coalition of 16 libertarian NGOs. Although the title of this report
mimics the WHO Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation and
Public Health (CIPIH) <http://www.who.int/intellectualproperty/en/> the
Civil Society report focuses on health systems, taxes and tariffs on
medicines, price controls and drug registration.

Barun Mitra's Liberty Institute is a member of IPN. According to
gmwatch.org <http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=3D156>, Barun Mitra
"lobbied hard for commercial approval for Monsanto's GM cotton, claiming
there should be 'free access' to new technologies without any government
interference". The Liberty Institute is a supporter of the tobacco
industry as well. Mitra contended that the "anti-tobacco crusade from
the West, like the environmental one as manifested at the WTO meeting
Seattle last December, is the newest manifestation of the
neo-imperialistic desires". Bibek Debroy has been a fellow of the
Liberty Institute; he is a critic
<http://www.policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/rethinking_the_debate_0701.pdf>
of compulsory licensing in developing countries. Jasson Urbach's outfit,
Africa Fighting Malaria, is an NGO dedicated to promoting the use of DDT
to combat malaria. It's director is Richard Tren who delivered a rather
inelegant critique <http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=3D051905C> on
the proposal to create an Essential Patent Pool for HIV/AIDS at last
year's World Health Assembly.

Governments and health campaigners truly dedicated to the protection of
public health and the promotion of access to medicines for all may want
to consider giving this reception a miss, no matter the quality of IPN's
drinks or canap=E9s.