[Pharm-policy] Re: [Ip-health] African and US leaders sign cooperative agreement
onAIDS
Zackie Achmat
zackie@pixie.co.za
Thu, 16 Nov 2000 23:17:20 +0200
Dear Amir, Jamie and All
The majority of people with HIV/AIDS do not have access to basic health care
services in Africa and very limited access to life-saving essential ARVs.
This elementary observation is based on two key factors -- high drug prices
and failure by governments to invest in health care. I do not wish to make
the case for generic production or conditional debt cancellation here-- both
are positions I support. My comment takes a different vantage point from
Amir Attaran.
Two points. First, any meeting on HIV/AIDS in Africa or anywhere must take
a clear stand on access and sustainability of ARV provision. A principled
approach HIV/AIDS is essential and that principle is based on the rights to
healthcare access and life. Unequal access to health care is leading to a
loss of life in a catastrophic manner and continues to undermine any
prevention efforts.
This simply means that a firm, open and uncompromising stand must be taken
against multinational drug company profiteering at the expense of lives and
the abuse of the state to enrich elites in the poor countries while people
die.
Second, this position is not taken to exclude the drug companies (generic or
brand name). Nor is it taken to exclude many governments. A solution to the
health care crisis cannot be found without these powers. But it is the
duty of every independent researcher, academic or activist to make clear to
them and the world that one cannot take an "objective position" on people
dying simply because they cannot afford medicines or health care. This is
a non-negotiable starting point for any genuine effort to improve access and
to deal effectively with the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
It is critical that a privileged institution such as the Harvard AIDS
Institute takes an open and principled position on health care profiteering
by drug companies and profligate governments. In doing so, the Harvard AIDS
Institute and any other similar body could genuinely play a role as an
honest broker between the economic power of drug companies, the political
power of governments and social power of civil society. A position from
academic researchers, particularly those working in health care that favours
"neither side in the debate" between drug companies/governments and people
who need health care, fails the poor and dispossessed.
Thanx (The original correspondence is reproduced below)
Zackie Achmat (Chairperson - Treatment Action Campaign - South Africa)
Dear Jamie,
With regard to your comment on funding of the Africa Now event that was
held by the Harvard AIDS Institute earlier this week, please trust me that
there was no untoward colouring by Merck of the agenda, any more than there
was colouring by the many civil society and religious groups who were
there. The people at the Harvard AIDS Institute are good folks who ran a
fair, well balanced, meeting. Naturally there was some discussion of using
ARVs in Africa, and both the major pharmaceutical companies (speaking
mostly through Bristol Meyers) and their critics (speaking mostly through
the South African delegation) made eloquent presentations. I can assure
you that in the full two days of the meeting, we heard discussion both
about brand-name price differentiation, and about generics and compulsory
licensing. Neither side of the debate was favored by the organizers, and
the exchange was helpful to everyone in the room.
In the end, participants heard the perspectives of both sides honestly, and
were free to come to their own conclusions without the undue influence of
either side. That's the best of all possible outcomes for such an event,
and though my colleagues at the Harvard AIDS Institute cannot come to their
own defence, I am pleased that they ran a process that was fair to all.
All the best,
Amir Attaran
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dr. Amir Attaran, LL.B.
Project Director, Macroeconomics and International Health
Harvard University - Centre for International Development
79 JFK Street, Room E505
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Tel: (617) 496-8712
Fax: (617) 496-8753
E-mail: amir_attaran@harvard.edu
love@cptech.org
Sent by: To:
ip-health-admin@venice.ess cc:
ential.org Subject:
[Ip-health] African and US leaders sign cooperative
agreement on AIDS
11/16/2000 12:14 PM
I had no info or heads up about this.... Thanks to Richard Jefferys for
posting this on health gap..., and reminding people of Merck and other
industry funding of the Harvard effort. Jamie
http://www.ama-assn.org/special/hiv/newsline/reuters/11168681.htm
African and US leaders sign cooperative agreement on AIDS
Last Updated: 2000-11-15 18:00:40 EDT (Reuters Health)
By Margaret A. Clark
BOSTON (Reuters Health) - Leaders from 24 African nations
met with leaders of the pharmaceutical industry, US policy advisors, and
academia at a 2-day summit, at which they unanimously approved a
framework document entitled "Principles of Collaboration: When
Confronting AIDS in Africa" that complements the United Nations'
International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa.
The leaders, participating in the Africa Now! Summit, hosted
by the Harvard AIDS Institute, hope that this document will serve as the
foundation on which to build an alliance between US government programs
and African initiatives to counter the growing AIDS epidemic in Africa.
[snip]
--
James Love mailto:love@cptech.org http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology, P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
voice 1.202.387.8030 fax 1.202.234.5176
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