AFRO-NETS> Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 15 Nov 2001

[Cecilia Snyder <csnyder@ccmc.org>]

Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - Thu, 15 Nov 2001
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* South African Anglican Bishop Says Mbeki's Questioning of HIV/AIDS
  Link Has Fueled Disease Spread
* WTO Ministers Issue Declaration Stating Patent Rules 'Should Not
  Pre-vent' Nations From Protecting Public Health

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South African Anglican Bishop Says Mbeki's Questioning of HIV/AIDS 
Link Has Fueled Disease Spread

South African Anglican Bishop Peter Lee recently sent a letter to 
Cedric Mayson, the African National Congress' religious affairs di-
rector, saying that President Thabo Mbeki's questioning of the causal 
link between HIV and AIDS has led many men in the rural KwaZulu-Natal 
province to erroneously believe that sex and AIDS are "not linked," 
the Daily Mail & Guardian reports. Therefore, the men have not al-
tered their sexual behavior to protect themselves and their partners 
from the disease. In the letter, Lee said that his daughter, who 
worked as a doctor in the province as part of a community service 
project in 1998, was "constantly" told by men that the "big man 
[Mbeki] says there is no connection between sex and AIDS -- so I will 
carry on as before." That assumption is "destroying human lives 
across this country," Lee told Mayson in the "latest in a series of 
acrimonious exchanges" between Mayson and church leaders. Mayson 
called the criticism a "disgusting ploy" on the part of church lead-
ers, saying that their concerns were "political attacks," and asked 
Lee whether he was "wrongly promoting the notion that Mbeki denies a 
connection between sex and AIDS." Lee answered that Mbeki's remarks 
have been "universally construed as fudging the causal link between 
sexual behavior and the disease -- for whatever motive." Lee added 
that Mbeki has not publicly declared "that personal behavior change 
is the key to cracking the epidemic" as "every other" African leader 
has done (Kindra, Daily Mail & Guardian, 11/12).


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WTO Ministers Issue Declaration Stating Patent Rules 'Should Not Pre-
vent' Nations From Protecting Public Health

A World Trade Organization ministerial working group meeting in Doha, 
Qatar, has approved and issued a declaration stating that developing 
nations can override patent protections to produce medicines during 
public health emergencies, the Wall Street Journal reports (Coo-
per/Winestock, Wall Street Journal, 11/15). The declaration addresses 
the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 
agreement, which outlines international patent rules. The declaration 
states that TRIPS needs to be part of wider national and interna-
tional action to address epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and 
malaria. "We agree that the TRIPS agreement does not and should not 
prevent [WTO] members from taking measures to protect public health. 
Accordingly, while reiterating our commitment to the TRIPS agreement, 
we affirm that the agreement can and should be interpreted and imple-
mented in a manner supportive of WTO members' right to protect public 
health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all," 
the declaration states. The text also says that each WTO member has 
the right to issue compulsory licenses and the liberty to determine 
when to issue those licenses. In cases of pharmaceuticals, the "least 
developed" WTO member nations are not required to implement TRIPS 
rules relating to patents until Jan. 1, 2016, and may apply for ex-
tensions of transition periods. The Council for TRIPS has been tasked 
with addressing the whether countries can also import generics from 
other nations and is expected to report its findings before the end 
of 2002 ("Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health," 
11/14). The Los Angeles Times reports that none of the Doha agree-
ments requires immediate congressional approval, although U.S. Trade 
Representative Robert Zoellick may find that his work on the drug 
patent declaration will "alienate" him from pharmaceutical companies 
and their "allies in Congress" (Vieth, Los Angeles Times, 11/15). WTO 
negotiators are now set to begin three years of talks on issues such 
as medicine prices and food exports (Toedtman, Newsday, 11/15). The 
full text of the ministerial declaration on TRIPS and pharmaceuticals 
is available online.

AIDS Activists Pleased

AIDS activists are largely pleased with the WTO declaration. "It's 
the greatest moment of our entire campaign -- we're euphoric. We 
could have written that declaration ourselves," Jamie Love, director 
of the Consumer Project on Technology, said (Harris/Zimmerman, Wall 
Street Journal, 11/15). Ellen 't Hoen of Doctors Without Borders 
added, "Countries can ensure access to medicines without fear of be-
ing dragged into a legal battle" (Geitner, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 
11/15). Oxfam called the declaration "a clear victory [for] public 
health." Michael Bailey, senior policy adviser for Oxfam, said, "The 
deal on patents will help poor countries get cheaper medicines. Doha 
sends a strong message that people's health overrides the interests 
of big drug companies, who will find it much harder to bully poor 
countries over patents" (Oxfam release, 11/14).

Drug Industry 'Satisfied' With Text

The pharmaceutical industry, which had opposed greater TRIPS flexi-
bility, said that the new declaration will not have a great impact on 
drug makers. Alan Holmer, president of the Pharmaceutical Research 
and Manufacturers of America, said that his group is "satisfied" that 
the text does not "expand or diminish the rights and obligations" 
within world trade agreements (Harris/Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 
11/15). The declaration states that WTO members "recognize that in-
tellectual property protection is important" and agree to "maintai[n] 
our commitments in the TRIPS agreement" ("Declaration on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Public Health," 11/14). Holmer cited these clauses in a 
PhRMA press release, saying, "The declaration recognizes that TRIPS 
and patents are part of the solution to better public health, not a 
barrier to access. Without altering the existing rights and obliga-
tions under TRIPS, the declaration provides assurances that countries 
may take all measures consistent with the agreement to protect the 
health of their citizens" (PhRMA release, 11/14). However, other drug 
industry officials were less pleased with the text. Henry McKinnell, 
chair and CEO of Pfizer, Inc., said the declaration is the result of 
"a public relations campaign by Indian generics manufacturers seeking 
to retain their rights to copy drug makers' discoveries" (Har-
ris/Zimmerman, Wall Street Journal, 11/15).

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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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