[afro-nets] Who is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa?

[A. Odutola <chpss_abo2@yahoo.com>]

Who is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa?
----------------------------------------------------

The two stories below illustrate the forces at play in the claim
for supremacy over who is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS in
Africa and other developing countries. What lessons are there
for Africa to learn?

According to recent news reports, "the European Commission on
Friday proposed new regulations that would allow the export of
generic antiretroviral drugs to countries most affected by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic that are unable to manufacture the drugs do-
mestically", AP/Forbes.com reports. (Kaiser Daily HIV Reports
11/01/04). The E.U. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy is credited
to say that "by adopting this proposal, the E.U. leads the way
in ensuring access to affordable medicines for poor countries"
(Kaiser Daily HIV Reports 11/01/04).

In another report however, U.S. Ambassador Randall Tobias, head
of the State Department Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator is
credited to have said that "America has put the global AIDS cri-
sis on the world's agenda and moved the world's response to a
new level," and that the "pace and intensity" of the United
States' efforts in support of the global fight against AIDS are
"simply unprecedented," concluding, "Our nation is leading the
world's response to HIV/AIDS, and we will not let up" (Albuquer-
que Tribune, 10/30) (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report 11/01/04).

A. Odutola
mailto:chpss_abo2@yahoo.com


--
European Commission proposes regulations allowing export of ge-
neric AIDS drugs to developing countries

Kaisernetwork.org [Nov 01, 2004]

The European Commission on Friday proposed new regulations that
would allow the export of generic antiretroviral drugs to coun-
tries most affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic that are unable to
manufacture the drugs domestically, the AP/Forbes.com reports.
The European Parliament and the 25 member countries of the Euro-
pean Union must approve the proposal, which would implement a
World Trade Organization agreement reached last year
(AP/Forbes.com, 10/29). WTO negotiators in August 2003 reached
an agreement to allow developing countries to issue compulsory
licenses in order to import generic drugs if the country con-
firms that it cannot domestically manufacture them. Currently,
only Mozambique, Malaysia and Canada have adopted legislation to
implement the agreement (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 7/7). The
E.C. proposal also includes regulations on the labeling and
packaging of generic antiretrovirals to prevent re-importation
of the drugs into Europe, according to AFP/EUbusiness
(AFP/EUbusiness, 10/29). Patent holders also would be able to
implement existing national laws to enforce patents if drugs
were re-imported. The proposal is expected to be submitted to
the European Commission next year for approval (AP/Forbes.com,
10/29).

Reaction "By adopting this proposal, the E.U. leads the way in
ensuring access to affordable medicines for poor countries,"
E.U. Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said, adding, "I now hope
that it can be taken forward quickly by the E.U. member states
and the European Parliament." The advocacy group Oxfam Interna-
tional "welcomed" the proposal, saying that the European Union
is "sending a positive political signal to developing countries
that they can override patents to gain access to cheaper generic
medicines, vital to combating deadly and debilitating diseases,"
according to AFP/EUbusiness. "With 14 million people dying every
year from infectious diseases, it is essential that developing
countries feel confident about supplying cheaper generic medi-
cines to their citizens in the face of hostility from the giant
drug companies and the United States government," Oxfam official
Michael Bailey said in a statement (AFP/EUbusiness, 10/29). How-
ever, the organization added that the European Union must ensure
that the proposal does not carry "too much red tape that could
slow" the export of generic drugs to developing countries in a
"health emergency," the AP/Forbes.com reports (AP/Forbes.com,
10/29).

Source: Kaisernetwork.org:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm?dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=01-Nov-04#26508


--
United States leading world response in fight against HIV/AIDS
through Global Fund, PEPFAR Support, Opinion Piece Says

Kaisernetwork.org [Nov 01, 2004]

The United States, under the leadership of President Bush, is
acting with "courage and compassion" in facing the global "trag-
edy" of HIV/AIDS through "swift action and extraordinary finan-
cial commitment," U.S. Ambassador Randall Tobias, head of the
State Department Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, writes
in an Albuquerque Tribune opinion piece in response to a commen-
tary criticizing the Bush administration that was published Oct.
21 in the Tribune (Tobias, Albuquerque Tribune, 10/30). In that
piece, Heidi Topp Brooks and Roxanne Allen, who are volunteer
citizen lobbyists with the Albuquerque, N.M., chapter of the ad-
vocacy group RESULTS, wrote that withholding funds from the
Global Fund under a stipulation in the President's Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief could "seriously undermine" the fund's work
and result in 100,000 new HIV infections worldwide, and leave
25,000 patients without needed medication. Topp Brooks and Allen
wrote that although PEPFAR is "laudable," the program is "lim-
ited" because it only includes 15 countries and does not ade-
quately address tuberculosis (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report,
10/25). According to Tobias, PEPFAR provides funding for treat-
ment, prevention and care, including antiretroviral drug treat-
ment, for people in more than 100 nations -- with a focus on 15
countries. This year, the United States has provided $2.4 bil-
lion to the fight against HIV/AIDS, Tobias says, adding that the
United States also is "by far the largest donor nation" in the
world to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Ma-
laria. "Bush has completely changed the landscape of this issue.
America has put the global AIDS crisis on the world's agenda and
moved the world's response to a new level," Tobias writes. To-
bias writes that the "pace and intensity" of the United States'
efforts in support of the global fight against AIDS are "simply
unprecedented," concluding, "Our nation is leading the world's
response to HIV/AIDS, and we will not let up" (Albuquerque Trib-
une, 10/30).

Source: Kaisernetwork.org
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_hiv_recent_rep.cfm?dr_cat=1&show=yes&dr_DateTime=01-Nov-04#26511