[Ip-health] Online ATM discussion to feed into UK AIDS strategy.

[Sarah Waldron]

The UK's Department for International Development is currently running a
  consultation to update =93Taking Action=94 - the UK strategy on AIDS.

A series of open online discussions form part of this process. Until
Friday 22 June one of the discussions asks: "What can the UK do to
improve access to medicines and sexual and reproductive health and
rights supplies that prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, through better
pricing, availability and delivery mechanisms?"

Further details, including how to participate, can be found below

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 From Monday 11th June to Friday 27th July, the UK Consortium on AIDS &
International Development will be holding a series of open online
discussions on the AIDSPortal to input into the Department for
International Development's consultation to update =93Taking Action=94 - th=
e
UK strategy on AIDS.  Running parallel to the main consultation process
these discussions offer the opportunity to focus in more detail on
specific issues drawn from the consultation questions.

Please forward this email onto to any organisation that would like to
contribute.

The first two discussions run from Monday 11th to Friday 22nd June.
They will run in parallel and focus on:

1. How can the UK best influence global and country progress to
integrate sexual and reproductive health and rights within the AIDS
response?
2. What can the UK do to improve access to medicines and sexual and
reproductive health and rights supplies that prevent and treat HIV and
AIDS, through better pricing, availability and delivery mechanisms?

For more information on the overall consultation process and other ways
to contribute click here.  We will update this page as new information
becomes available.  You may also wish to refer to the consultation document=
.

Discussion 2 - What can the UK do to improve access to medicines and
sexual and reproductive health and rights supplies that prevent and
treat HIV and AIDS, through better pricing, availability and delivery
mechanisms?

The UK is committed to supporting the scale up to universal access to
HIV prevention programmes, treatment, care and support.  Within this
context this discussion aims to explore the work the UK can do to
improve access to medicines.  Following are some key related initiatives
along with background information.

An Advanced Market Commitment is a binding contract, typically offered
by a government or other financial entity, used to guarantee a viable
market if a vaccine or other medicine is successfully developed. As a
result of such a commitment, the market for HIV drugs would be
comparable in size and certainty to the market for medicines for rich
countries.  For more information see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_market_commitments or Advance
Market Commitments: helping to accelerate AIDS vaccine development
(IAVI) http://www.aidsportal.org/Article_Details.aspx?ID=3D1281

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) is an international agreement for many forms of intellectual
property regulation.  The Doha Declaration indicates that TRIPs should
not prevent states from dealing with public health crises.  For more
information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doha_Declaration and
Patents vs Patients: Whose Rights First? (Oxfam)
http://www.aidsportal.org/Article_Details.aspx?ID=3D3322

The International Drug Purchase Facility or UNITAID was established to
provide long-term access to high quality low-cost treatments.  For more
information see http://www.unitaid.eu/en/ or
http://www.aidsportal.org/overlay_details.aspx?nex=3D123

The Medicines Transparency Alliance ( MeTA ) aims to enhance
transparency and build capacity in medicines policy, procurement and
supply chain management For more see http://www.dfidhealthrc.org/MeTA/

How to participate

Starting from Monday 11th June you can join the discussions at this link
- http://www.aidsportal.org/Topic.aspx?ID=3D2  Click on the title of the
discussion you wish to join and then =91post reply=92 to make your comments=
.

To access the discussion you must have an AIDSPortal account and be
logged in.

1. If you are already an AIDSPortal member you can login from
http://www.aidsportal.org/ by entering your username and password in the
box and clicking on =91go=92.  Once you are logged in you will see your nam=
e
at the top of the screen
2. If you are an AIDSPortal member but have forgotten your username or
password, please contact Patricia Kangogyere at
patricia@aidsconsortium.org.uk
3. If you are not yet an AIDSPortal member you can join for free by
completing the short form at http://www.aidsportal.org/join.aspx

If you need help at any stage please contact Patricia Kangogyere on +44
(0) 207 324 4780 or patricia@aidsconsortium.org.uk


--
Sarah Waldron
People & Planet
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