AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Fri, 2 Nov 2001

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Fri, 2 Nov 2001
----------------------------------------------

* Zambian Bill to Mandate HIV Testing for Presidential Candidates De-
  layed
* Health Activists Protest U.S. Position on TRIPS Agreement One Week
  Before WTO Meetings
* Two Vertical Transmission-Related Lawsuits Against South African
  Health Officials Could Coincide in Court
* AIDS Activists Should 'Rethink Stance' Against U.S. Patent Support
  as Trade Rep Makes Two Concessions, Washington Post Says

--
Zambian Bill to Mandate HIV Testing for Presidential Candidates De-
layed

The Zambian cabinet is "split" over whether to introduce legislation 
that would force presidential candidates to have an HIV test before 
general elections this year, government sources said yesterday. 
Reuters reports that the bill, which was scheduled to be debated at 
an emergency session of Parliament on Friday, may not advance to the 
Parliament because politicians in the "deeply conservative" African 
nation "shy away" from talking about AIDS in public. The bill's "im-
plications are enormous," a minister told Reuters, adding, "It would 
also mean that the next president could choose to submit those wish-
ing to take up cabinet posts and top government jobs to AIDS tests, 
and this has many people deeply uncomfortable." Levy Patrick 
Mwanawasa, candidate of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy, 
on Wednesday "urged" fellow presidential hopefuls to have HIV tests 
in an effort to raise public awareness and ensure that Zambia's next 
leader is "medically fit." But Godfrey Miyanda, the Heritage Party 
candidate, rejected the proposed bill on Thursday, saying it was 
"discriminatory" and an "infringement of human rights." Miyanda ques-
tioned the timing of the legislation, noting that it would "defeat 
the fight against stigmatisation of those living with AIDS." In addi-
tion to the presidential testing mandate, the bill calls for a 20-
year jail term for anyone who deliberately spreads HIV. Zambian 
President Frederick Chiluba, who has not yet provided a firm date for 
elections, has called AIDS the nation's biggest development challenge 
(Reuters, 11/1).

--
Health Activists Protest U.S. Position on TRIPS Agreement One Week 
Before WTO Meetings

About 300 demonstrators gathered outside the Washington, D.C., of-
fices of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick yesterday to pro-
test the country's position on patent rights and access to drugs in 
developing nations, one week before the World Trade Organization's 
meeting in Qatar, the Washington Post reports. The activists -- most 
of whom traveled from Philadelphia -- wielded paper skulls and gave a 
"rousing send-off" to the U.S. trade representatives on their way to 
the Qatar meetings. The demonstration was the only U.S.-based protest 
planned for next week's conference (Washington Post, 11/2). Health 
activists disagree with the United States' opposition to "liberaliz-
ing" the WTO's Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 
agreement, and they have "pushed" for approval of a declaration that 
would allow developing nations to suspend drug patents in times of 
public health crises, a move that would help poor nations access 
cheaper AIDS drugs (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 11/1). Although the 
United States-backed declaration "acknowledges" that developing coun-
tries have a right "to take measures necessary to address these pul-
bic health crises, in particular to secure affordable access to medi-
cines," it "insists" that TRIPS "takes precedence" over that right 
(Olson, New York Times, 11/2). In a speech yesterday, however, Zoel-
lick announced two concessions that his delegation would make to de-
veloping nations that cannot afford patented AIDS drugs: a deadline 
extension to 2016 to implement patent laws, 10 years beyond WTO's 
deadline, and a moratorium of at least five years on WTO challenges 
to African nations' efforts to fight AIDS and other diseases (Wash-
ington Post, 11/2).

--
Two Vertical Transmission-Related Lawsuits Against South African 
Health Officials Could Coincide in Court

The Treatment Action Campaign's lawsuit against the South African 
government over access to nevirapine for pregnant women could come to 
court at the same time as a lawsuit filed on behalf of a six-month-
old infant who contracted HIV from her mother, the Lancet reports. In 
its lawsuit, TAC is asking that the government allow public-sector 
doctors to "prescribe and dispense nevirapine at the request of any 
pregnant woman," not just those enrolled in the government's 18 pilot 
projects to test the use of the drug. TAC also wants the South Afri-
can government to develop "clear time frames" for implementing a pro-
gram to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. Judgment on the 
case might come in February, in which case it would coincide with the 
lawsuit filed on behalf of the infant (Baleta, Lancet, 11/3). Attor-
neys representing the infant, supported by the AIDS Law Project and 
TAC, are suing South African health authorities for negligence for 
failing to inform the mother of means available to reduce the risk of 
vertical transmission. The infant's mother says that she was never 
asked about her HIV status while regularly attending antenatal 
classes at the Ka-Nyamazane clinic at Rob Ferreira Hospital, and al-
though she underwent repeated blood tests, no one ever discussed with 
her the results. Richard Spoor, the attorney representing the infant 
with assistance from the AIDS Law Project, has served a letter of de-
mand on Mpumalanga Health Minister Sibongile Manana seeking $76,000 
in damages (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/22). Spoor told the Lan-
cet that Manana will contest the allegations, a statement verified by 
Mpumalanga health department spokesperson Dumisani Mlangeni (Lancet, 
11/3).

--
AIDS Activists Should 'Rethink Stance' Against U.S. Patent Support as 
Trade Rep Makes Two Concessions, Washington Post Says

AIDS activists who have fought the U.S. government's support for in-
ternational patents "should now rethink their stance," as U.S. Trade 
Representative Robert Zoellick has announced two "overlook[ed]" con-
cessions, according to a Washington Post editorial. Although activ-
ists have succeeded in moving policy away from a "morally untenable 
insistence that poor countries epouse rich countries' patent system," 
they now risk "spoiling their achievement" by continuing to protest 
against a moderated international patent system that may encourage 
drug makers to withdraw from research into AIDS and other "politi-
cally charged diseases." In a speech yesterday, Zoellick announced 
two concessions to developing nations that cannot afford patented 
AIDS drugs: a deadline extension to 2016 to implement patent laws, 10 
years beyond the World Trade Organization's deadline, and a morato-
rium of at least five years on WTO challenges to African nations' ef-
forts to fight AIDS and other diseases. The editorial points out that 
these concessions, "[p]rovided they are implemented in good faith," 
will help "silence the controversy on drug pricing" but do not assist 
non-African nations that are "too rich to qualify for the 10-year ex-
tension [and] still face a terrible AIDS toll." Specifically, the 
editorial notes that Brazil and India are required to comply with the 
international patent system but face AIDS crises that "threaten to 
overwhelm public resources." To address this concern, the U.S. draft 
declaration for the Doha summit "reaffirms countries' rights to cir-
cumvent patent rules in case of health emergencies such as AIDS." The 
editorial concludes that it "would be a tragedy" if activists' "con-
tinued outrage" pushes drug makers away from research into AIDS 
(Washington Post, 11/2).

--
The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, 
a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, by National 
Journal Group Inc. c 2001 by National Journal Group Inc. and Kaiser 
Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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