[Ip-health] TAC and Act Up-Paris's protest in Cape Town (Eng then Fr)

[jeromemartin@samizdat.net]

Eng, then Fr


Dear Friends


Please find below TAC and Act Up-Paris's press release after our protest
at the 5th IAS international conference in Cape Town. Pictures are
available here :

http://www.actupparis.org/spip.php?page=3Dportfolio&id_document=3D5879



http://www.actupparis.org/spip.php?article3778
Tuesday, 21st July 2009 =96 For immediate release



Second and third line treatments, viral load,=A0 now and everywhere !


Cape Town, South Africa =96 Activists from Act Up-Paris, Treatment
Action Campaign, followed by individuals from organizations such as
MSF, Act Up-Lusaka, REDS demonstrated this afternoon in the exhibition
room during the 5th IAS Conference on HIV that is taking place in Cape
Town. They walked around the pharma companies' (Pfizer, MSD, Tibotec,
BMS, Bohringer ingelheim, Gilead) boothes to protest against the high
price of 2nd and 3rd line drugs and the cost of conducting a viral
load. They organized a silent die-in at the entry of the exhibition
room. They were urging drug companies to drop the price of thier drugs
and of the viral load. They were also demanding the governements to
promote generic drugs.=A0 Several activists expressed their concern
regarding the situation regarding the access to drugs during the press
conference that was following : Vuyiseka Dubula (Treatment Action
Campaign =96 South Africa), Rolake Odetoyinbo (Treatment action
movement- Nigeria), Gilles Van Cutsem (MSF), St=E9phane Vambre and
Pauline Londeix (Act Up-Paris, France).

Real world universal access to treatment implies indeed that every
drug, including 2nd line and newer drugs, is made readily available.
It also implies that every PLWHIV has access to complete lab
monitoring (CD4 count, viral load, genotypic tests.) In order to begin
the right treatment and=A0 switch if necessary.

Today PLWHIV who have access to treatments (less than 30 % of all
PLWHIV across the world according to UNAIDS) rarely have access to
complete lab monitoring nor to second and third line treatments even
though these drugs are important because they are often less toxic and
because they are required to overcome resistance. The main obstacles
to access are the high price of these drugs and the=A0 cost of
conducting a viral load. Patents that prevent universal access to
treatment must be broken when they stand between people and treatment.
The international treaties on the protection of the Intellectual
Property allow patents to be broken in such cases of global pandemic
and emergency, issueing compulsory licencings.
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 .

Bonjour

Vous trouverez ci-dessous le communiqu=E9 de TAC et d'Act Up-Paris apr=E8s
notre manifestation =E0 la 5=E8me conf=E9rence internationale de l'IAS =E0 =
Cape
Town. Vous pouvez trouver des photos de cette manifestation ici :

http://www.actupparis.org/spip.php?page=3Dportfolio&id_document=3D5879

http://www.actupparis.org/spip.php?article3777

Mardi 21 juillet 2009, Pour diffusion imm=E9diate
Communiqu=E9 de presse Act Up-Paris, Treatment Action campaign (T.A.C)

Seconde et troisi=E8mes lignes de traitements, charge virale, maintenant
et pour tous !

Cape Town, Afrique du Sud =96 Des activistes d=92Act Up-Paris, de T.A.C
(treatment action campaign), suivis de militants d=92associations telles
que MSF, Act Up-Lusaka, le REDS, ont manifest=E9 cet apr=E8s-midi dans la
salle des expositions de la 5=E8me conf=E9rence IAS, conf=E9rence
th=E9rapeutique sur le sida, qui se d=E9roule en ce moment au Cap, en
Afrique du Sud. Ils ont march=E9 entre les stands de l=92industrie
pharmaceutique (Pfizer, MSD, Tibotec, BMS, Bohringer ingelheim,
Gilead) pour protester contre les prix tr=E8s =E9lev=E9s des secondes et
troisi=E8mes lignes de traitements -- et du co=FBt des charges virales,
que pratiquent l=92industrie pharmaceutique. Un die-in a suivi =E0
l=92entr=E9e de la salle des expositions. Les activistes exigeaient des
laboratoires qu=92ils baissent de toute urgence le prix de leurs
m=E9dicaments, ainsi que le co=FBt des charges virales. Ils ont =E9galement
demand=E9 aux gouvernements la promotion des m=E9dicaments g=E9n=E9riques. =
Sur
cette question de l'acc=E8s aux traitements et au suivi biologique,
plusieurs activistes ont exprim=E9 leur vive inqui=E9tude pendant la
conf=E9rence de presse qui a suivi : Vuyiseka Dubula (Treatment Action
Campaign =96 Afrique du Sud), Rolake Odetoyinbo (Treatment action
movement- Nigeria), Gilles Van Cutsem (MSF), St=E9phane Vambre et
Pauline Londeix (Act Up-Paris, France).

L=92acc=E8s universel aux traitements partout dans le monde implique en
effet que tous les m=E9dicaments, notamment ceux des secondes lignes
ainsi que des mol=E9cules plus r=E9centes et moins toxiques soient rendues
accessibles. Cela implique =E9galement que chaque personne vivant avec
le VIH ait acc=E8s =E0 un suivi biologique complet (compte des CD4, charge
virale, test g=E9notypiques etc.) de fa=E7on =E0 commencer son traitement a=
u
bon moment et d=92en changer si n=E9cessaire.

Mais aujourd=92hui, dans la r=E9alit=E9, les personnes vivant avec le
VIH/sida qui ont acc=E8s =E0 des traitements (moins de 30% selon ONUSIDA)
ont rarement acc=E8s =E0 un suivi biologique complet, ni aux secondes et
troisi=E8mes lignes de traitements, m=EAme si ces m=E9dicaments sont
pourtant essentiels et n=E9cessaires en cas de r=E9sistance aux premi=E8res
lignes de traitements. Les principaux obstacles =E0 l=92acc=E8s =E0 ces
traitements sont leurs prix, trop =E9lev=E9s. Les brevets, qui font
obstacles =E0 l=92acc=E8s universel, doivent =EAtre contourn=E9s lorsqu=92i=
ls
emp=EAchent l=92acc=E8s aux traitements pour des malades. Les trait=E9s
internationaux qui prot=E8gent la propri=E9t=E9 intellectuelle permettent
dans des cas d=92urgence et de pand=E9mie mondiale de contourner les
brevets en utilisant des dispositions l=E9gales telles que l=92=E9mission d=
e
licences obligatoires.