[Ip-health] Joint Statement: Influenza Virus & Benefit Sharing

[Sangeeta]

The statement below is still open for signatures.

Sangeeta TWN.


JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT

WHO Meeting  on Influenza Virus Sharing and Benefit Sharing Should Establis=
h
New Framework  To Ensure Developing Countries=B9 Access to Influenza Vaccin=
es
and Technology

We  the civil society organisations listed below are concerned about the
present  imbalanced  system on influenza in which countries are asked to
contribute viruses to the WHO global influenza system but in which the
developing countries are not assured they can have access to vaccines and
other health products required to deal with the problem of influenza.

In particular we are concerned that: (1) many patent  applications have bee=
n
filed for influenza viruses or their parts and vaccines  (and methods to
produce them), which can increase the problems of access to  vaccines for
developing countries;  and (2) in the event of a breakout of  pandemic
influenza (which experts fear has the potential to cause many  millions of
deaths) there is no assurance that countries in greatest need will  have
access to vaccines or treatment due to high prices and lack of supplies
especially in developing countries.

We are encouraged that  the World Health Assembly in its May 2007 session
decided to deal with these  problems by establishing an inter-governmental
meeting to discuss the sharing  of viruses and the sharing of benefits.

We call on  Member States of the World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting at
the  Intergovernmental Meeting in Geneva on 20-23rd November to establish a
fair  and equitable framework that ensures that developing countries have
timely  access to adequate and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and other
medical  products, and that they have immediate access to all the tools and
knowledge  needed for local production of vaccines and anti-virals, which
are required  for them to prepare for a possible pandemic.

The framework must  not put commercial interests and profits before public
health and must ensure  that developing countries=B9 needs and interests ar=
e
reflected and prioritized.

The framework must also prevent the misappropriation of  biological
resources. For a long time, countries have been contributing  influenza
viruses to laboratories from developed countries designated by WHO,  which
then in turn pass on the viruses and/or parts of it contained in vaccine
seed viruses to companies without the permission of the contributing
country,  in violation of the WHO March 2005 Guidance.

In fact, several  companies/institutions including a WHO designated
laboratory are seeking  patents on viruses, parts of the viruses and on
products derived from the  influenza viruses such as vaccines. These
companies and institutions see this  as an occasion to obtain patents and
extra profits, and there has been a rapid  increase in patenting activity
related to avian influenza,

Developing countries cannot afford the expensive vaccines  especially if
entire or major parts of the populations have to be vaccinated.

Availability of vaccines in a timely manner and in sufficient  quantities i=
s
also a major problem in the event of a pandemic as current  global supply
capacity is only at about 500 million doses, much less than  potential
demand of the billions of doses needed. Thus acute shortages  particularly
in the developing world are foreseen as developed countries  having
financial and other resources are already booking in advance treatments
including vaccines for pre-pandemic and pandemic use.

The  ability to locally and/or regionally produce adequate vaccines is a
critical  element in any pandemic preparedness. However many of the
technologies and the  know-how needed to develop and produce vaccines are
also either protected by  proprietary rights and/or not easily accessible t=
o
developing  countries.

The current framework favours industry and the  developed countries that
have the financial resources to build up stockpiles  of pre-pandemic
vaccines and to purchase in advance pandemic  vaccines.

According to WHO the world is presently at a phase 3  pandemic alert (out o=
f
6 phases) and is now closer to another influenza  pandemic than at any time
since 1968.

In the event of a global  pandemic, it is likely to be 'each country for
itself', with those countries  that have stockpiled vaccines being reluctan=
t
to share their stockpile of  vaccines with other countries. An internationa=
l
stockpile would also have  limited use. Developing countries including
countries that have contributed  their viruses are likely to face an acute
shortage of badly-needed vaccines  and medical products.

This issue reflects current inequities in  the global health system.

We call on WHO Member States to take  immediate action to correct the
situation.

Our action  proposals:

1.   We call on WHO Member States to  establish a new, fair and equitable
framework on influenza viruses and sharing  of benefits arising from the
utilization of the influenza viruses.

2.  The priority of the framework should be to meet public  health needs,
particularly that of developing countries.  The framework  should:

(a) recognise the principles of national sovereignty over  biological
resources, prior informed consent, and fair and equitable sharing  of
benefits arising from the utilization of the viruses (and parts thereof
such as sequence data).  Benefit-sharing has to be specific and mandatory
to enable adequate benefits to developing countries as the core of the
framework.

(b) ensure that institutions and companies receiving  the viruses or
products containing parts of the viruses are required to adhere  to ethical
and equitable conditions, including the sharing of benefits to  developing
countries and to those that contribute their viruses in line with  their
health needs.

(c) ensure that the WHO designated  laboratories, companies and other
institutions do not patent the viruses or  parts thereof such as the gene
sequences and derived products (e.g. vaccines).  This is especially since
the potential influenza pandemic represents an  international public health
threat of major and possibly catastrophic  proportions and this requires
public health needs to be given highest  priority.

(d) ensure that an adequate portion of the  limited global supply of
vaccines are set aside for WHO-organised  international/regional stockpiles
for the use of developing countries  and made available on the basis of nee=
d
and either free or at an affordable  cost.

(e) Ensure that developing countries that (in addition to  the supplies in
the WHO stockpile) wish to purchase vaccines should have  access to these a=
t
an affordable price;

(f) establish systems by  which scarce vaccines/anti-virals can be produced=
,
stocked and distributed  according to the principles of public health needs
(where and when they are  needed) and not according to financial,
technological capacity and power (i.e.  vaccines channelled to those who ca=
n
pay for them).

(g) oblige  developed country governments and the private sector to share
technologies and  know-how (in relation to influenza-related vaccines and
other health products)  with developing countries and provide the necessary
capacity building  in  order to promote local/regional pharmaceutical R and
production activities in  developing countries, including by not-for-profit
and public-owned  organizations.

(h) Take concrete measures to build capacity in  developing countries and
their regions on  activities needed for  influenza risk assessment (.e.g
identifying viral shift, drift or mutations)  and risk response
(preparedness for influenza epidemic/pandemic including  developing seed
viruses, diagnostic test kits); at present such capacity  exists mostly in
developed countries.

3. Developing countries should be assisted to build the capacity of their
public health system to  ensure an effective delivery of health services in
the event of a  pandemic. This means addressing the current shortage of
human resources. In addition, in the event of an outbreak, frontline health
workers treating patients would be at high risk of exposure and their
immunization should receive high priority. Not only do they have the same
right as everyone to be protected, their becoming infected removes an
invaluable resource for the treatment of many and makes them a potential
vector for transmission in a setting in which many of the patients they
become in contact with are highly vulnerable.


Signatories

1. ACT UP East Bay, Oakland,  California, US
1. Anti-Privatisation Forum, South Africa
2. Asia Indigenous Women's Network
3. All India Drug  Action Network, India
4. African Centre for Biosafety,  South Africa
5. American Public Health Association, USA
6. Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Australia
7. Associazione Italiana Amici di Raoul Follereau =AD (AIFO), Italy
8.  Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India
9.  Brazilian Network for People Integration  (REBRIP), Brazil
10. CENTAD, India
11. Centre for International Environmental Law, US/Switzerland
12. Centinela, Venezuela
13. Community Working Group on Health, Zimbabwe
14. COECOCEIBA-FoE Costa Rica,
15. Consumer Association of  Penang, Malaysia
16. Diverse Women for Diversity, India
17. Du Reseau Marocain Paour Le Droit A La Sante
18. Edmonds Institute, US
19. Education and Research Association for Consumers, Malaysia
20. Ecoropa,  Germany
21. Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations, Malaysia
23. GRAIN
24. Health Action International Asia Pacific
25. Intal, Belgium
26. International Ayurveda Foundation,  India/UK
27. International Peoples Health Council,  South Asia
28. Institute for Global Justice, Indonesia
29. Initiative for Health Equity & Society, India
30. Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples North
    East Zone, India
31. Indonesia Organic Alliance, Indonesia
32. Institute of Social and Economics Studies, (INESC) Brazil
33. Osservatorio Italiano sulla Salute Globale (OISG - Italian
    Global Health Watch)
34. Law & Society Trust (LST), Sri Lanka
35. Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre, Nigeria
36. Malaysian Standards Users Associations, Malaysia
37. Medical Action Group Inc. Phillipines
38. Mother Earth Unlimited, Phillipines
39. Movement for land and Agricultural Reform (Monlar), Sri Lanka
40. NAVDANYA, Research Foundation for Science technology &
    Ecology, India
41. Nepal Health Economics Association, Nepal
42. Pandemic Action, UK
43. Peoples' Health Movement, Global, Egypt
44. People's Health Movement (PHM) Iran
45. Peoples Health Movement, Bangladesh
46. Public Services International, (PSI)
47. Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Malaysia
48. Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Consumer Association,Malaysia
49. Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action, India.
50. Sunshine Project, USA
51. The Corner House,  UK
52. The Oakland Institute, Oakland, CA, USA
53. Third World Network, Malaysia
54. Tebtebba,  Phillipines
55. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), USA
56. Washington Biotechnology Action Council, USA