[Pharm-policy] MSF Open Letter to Pascal Lamy re South Africa

[James Love]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: MSF Open Letter to Pascal Lamy re South Africa
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 19:12:50 +0100
From: EHOEN@paris.msf.org (Ellen T HOEN)
To: love@cptech.org

  Plse post on IP health
 
 
Mr. Pascal Lamy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi, 200
1049            Brussels
 
Brussels, February 12, 2001
 
Dear Commissioner Lamy,
 
On 18 February 1998 forty-two pharmaceutical manufacturers and their
trade organisations brought suit against the Government of the Republic
of South Africa alleging that the Medicines and Related Substances
Control Amendment Act, No. 90 of 1997 is unconstitutional. 
 
This legislation aims to address the growing crisis of lack of access to
affordable medicine in South Africa by promoting the use of generic
medicines and by permitting the parallel importation of medicines. On 5
March 2001, this case will be heard in front of the High Court in
Pretoria, South Africa.
 
In 1998 the action of the pharmaceutical companies was supported by the
US Government, which placed South Africa on the Special 301 Watch List.
On 23 March 1998 your predecessor Sir Leon Brittan wrote to then Vice
President Mbeki to express his concern about this legislation.
 
We are writing you to ask you to officially withdraw the letter of the
Commission of 23 March 1998 and inform President Mbeki of South Africa
about this decision. We also ask you to explicitly express support for
South Africa’s right to use TRIPS-legal measures to address public
health concerns.
 
Withdrawing the letter of 23 March 1998 would be a clear gesture of
support to a government that has been accused of a tardy response to
AIDS, but which has recently embarked on an ambitious programme of using
antiretroviral therapy to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in
all nine South African provinces.  However, the government’s ability to
provide longer-term treatment to people with HIV – a urgent need in a
country in which one in five adults has HIV – is severely hampered by
the high cost of medicines in South Africa. 
We  would like to stress that access to essential medicines is also
crucial to treat other illnesses prevalent in South Africa, including
malaria, TB and other infectious diseases.
 
Since 1998 both the US and the EC have softened their positions on the
right of a country to use TRIPS compliant provisions to address public
health concerns and emergency situations. I refer to the U.S. Executive
Order 13155, Access to HIV/AIDS Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technologies
of 10 May 2000.
 
A similar change of policy has taken place in the Commission. On several
occasions you have referred to the fact that TRIPS provides the
necessary flexibility to address public health concerns and emergency
situations. At the G8 follow up meeting on infectious diseases in
December in Okinawa the European Commission stated that the enhanced
technical assistance in TRIPS implementation should include compulsory
licensing under Article 31.
 
In answer to questions of members of the European Parliament regarding
the letter of Sir Leon Brittan you informed the Parliament that the
Commission, while committed to full implementation of TRIPS, does not
pressure countries to adopt laws that are more stringent than the TRIPS
agreement requires. 
 
In view of the above we feel it would be appropriate to use the occasion
of this court case to signal your support for efforts to use measures
compliant with WTO Agreements to promote access to medicines.
 
 
 
 
Sincerely yours,
 
 
 
 
 
 
Morten Rostrup, MD, PhD
President of Médecins Sans Frontières International Council
 
 
===============================================
Ellen 't Hoen, LL.M.
MSF- Access to Essential Medicines Campaign
8, rue Saint-Sabin, 75544 Paris Cedex 11
tel: + 33 (0) 1 40212836
fax: + 33 (0) 1 48066868
e-mail: ellen.t.hoen@paris.msf.org
Web-site: www.accessmed-msf.org