“Gold has become the cornerstone of the Malian economy,” said Mamadou Biteye, regional director for Oxfam America. “But a country prioritizing gold mining, and the mining companies operating there, must be transparent and demonstrate to the country’s citizens how they will actually benefit from the boom.”
Mali is currently the third largest exporter of gold in Africa, behind world’s largest exporter, South Africa, and Ghana. “Gold exports from Mali more than tripled between 1996 and 2002, going from 18% to 65.4% of total exports,” said Keith Slack, senior policy advisor for Oxfam America. “Yet Mali has remained at the bottom of the United Nation’s Human Development Index, ranking 175 out of 177 countries in 2006.”
The laws and regulations that constitute Mali’s Mining Code have created a complex set of taxes, fees, and license charges that are effectively incomprehensible to those without some technical background. Mali’s low literacy rate, poor physical infrastructure, and inadequate electronic communications combine to make it nearly impossible for citizens to get clear and complete information about revenues and how they are spent to benefit the public.
“80% of Malians continue to live below the poverty line.” said Tiémoko Sangaré, executive secretary of the Sahel Development Foundation, an Oxfam America partner. “Yet gold has gone from accounting for 2.9% of our country’s gross domestic product in 2002 to 12.7% of in 2004. Where are the profits going?”
In its latest report Oxfam outlines several recommendations for increasing transparency in the gold mining sector in Mali. Recommendations geared at entities such as the World Bank, mining companies and the Government of Mali include:
Download the report . For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Liz Lucas at +617-728-2575 (office), + 617-785-7772 (cell) or via email llucas@oxfamamerica.org.
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Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 120 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice.
Sahel Development Foundation (Fondation Pour le Développement au Sahel- FDS) is a Malian non governmental organization that supports development initiatives to improve living conditions for poor communities.
The Publish What You Pay campaign aims to help citizens of resource-rich developing countries hold their governments accountable for the management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries. The Publish What You Pay coalition of over 300 NGOs worldwide calls for the mandatory disclosure of the payments made by oil, gas and mining companies’ to all governments for the extraction of natural resources.
]]>"Secretary Johanns is to be commended for putting this proposal on the table," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Current programs are doing little to help most of America's farmers and rural communities while hurting poor farmers in developing countries. The Secretary seems willing to move American agriculture in a new direction – one that is more consistent with international trade rules and will benefit conservation, nutrition, and rural development concerns."
Oxfam is also encouraged by the administration's added emphasis on support for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers. Long neglected, these producers face impediments to entering and competing in agricultural markets which hinders their ability to make a living from farming. In addition, added emphasis on conservation program funding and opportunities to develop renewable sources of energy from agriculture will lead to more sustainable agricultural systems and enhance efforts to develop more secure energy sources in the US.
The current Farm Bill, which is set to expire this year, offers an important opportunity for needed reforms. Currently, more than two-thirds of America's farmers receive little or nothing from current agricultural subsidy programs. These subsidies encourage overproduction, with the surplus dumped on the international market, in turn lowering prices and undercutting the livelihoods of millions of poor farmers around the world. Such programs are widely viewed to be out of step with current international trade rules.
"Our trading partners are suing the US at the WTO, and they are winning. The US has already lost one case to Brazil on cotton subsidies and Canada recently lodged another complaint challenging US corn subsidies," said Offenheiser. "Without meaningful reform of existing programs, the US will continue to face legal challenges at the WTO."
In September 2004, a WTO dispute panel found that over three billion in annual cotton subsidies paid by the US were illegal under WTO rules. The case was brought by Brazil and supported by West African cotton-producing countries. Oxfam estimates that US dumping caused losses of almost $400 million between 2001 and 2003 for poor African cotton-producing countries, where more than 10 million people depend directly on the crop. A WTO ruling on retaliation measures is expected this spring.
"Unless reformed, existing commodity subsidies will hinder international trade negotiations, said Offenheiser.
"Failure in the Doha delays reforms that could help developing countries and undermines broader US economic interests."
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The six agencies -- Action Against Hunger, CARE International, Oxfam International, Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision, and Save the Children -- said aid workers are facing violence on a scale not seen before in Darfur, leaving access to people in need at the conflict's lowest point at a time when the humanitarian need is greater than ever. Attacks on civilians are again rising and forcing even more people to flee their homes, and a breakdown of the aid response will leave millions in even greater danger. The worsening four-year-old crisis must not be allowed to deteriorate any further.
"The conflict has dragged on far too long and is now worse than it's ever been," said Irũngũ Houghton, pan Africa policy advisor for Oxfam in Addis for the summit. "To wait any longer puts hundreds of thousands of lives in danger and risks a total breakdown of the entire humanitarian response. Today must be the time the African Union, the UN and the international community says enough is enough."
Fresh fighting in January has left more than 350 people dead, according to UN and Sudanese government figures, and forced tens of thousands more from their homes. Splits in the rebel movements and a widespread lack of accountability have left Darfur increasingly lawless, leading to the direct targeting of aid workers. The violence has spread throughout Darfur and crossed the border into Chad. Even major towns and cities are now plagued with violence and have seen fighting and hijackings on the streets.
More than a month after an attack on aid workers in Gereida -- the most violent of the conflict so far, which saw staff raped, beaten and subjected to mock executions -- it is still far too dangerous for agencies to return to the camp. The largest camp in the world for displaced people, 130,000 of them have sought refuge in Gereida from attacks on their villages. Temporary evacuations of staff from other locations across Darfur have continued, with nearly 500 aid workers withdrawn since the start of December. In early January, the UN warned that malnutrition rates are again rising close to emergency levels. Progress made in stabilizing conditions over the past four years is in serious danger of being reversed.
The six agencies warn the summit will fail unless:
"The international community has failed the people of Darfur by not providing the AU force with the funds, equipment and support that it need," said Hussein Halane, Save the Children country director in Sudan. "But the AU can -- and must -- do more with the resources already at its disposal. There is no reason why firewood patrols cannot resume immediately."
Aid agencies working in Darfur have repeatedly called for the AU force to be strengthened, but despite two years of promises from the entire international community, the AU is now providing even less protection than before.
]]>The formal Letter of Intent between Green Mountain -- a major coffee roaster and distributor in the US -- and Ethiopia "is an initiative made in good faith between a major company, the government, and a national stakeholder group that includes farmer cooperatives," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.
"Developing countries need greater control over their own agricultural markets in order to negotiate a fair return from the quality and reputation of their products. Coffee companies that expect to thrive in a global market should follow Green Mountain's lead," Offenheiser said. "We hope that Green Mountain will continue to break new ground toward Ethiopia's ultimate goals."
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Oxfam hopes that going to the DRC on his first official foreign trip demonstrates Mr. Ban’s commitment to reversing one of the world’s most dire humanitarian crises. Despite the shift toward democracy, the country remains extremely unstable, with more than 1,000 civilians reportedly dying each day from conflict-related causes.
"The DRC is at a critical point," said Juliette Prodhan, head of Oxfam in the DRC. "December's elections were a success, but the new government structures are fragile. Without the continuing support of the UN peacekeepers, there is a risk that the DRC could slide back into conflict and chaos. Oxfam hopes that the UN member states will not abandon the millions of Congolese who voted for peace and stability."
Oxfam called on Mr. Ban to encourage the Security Council to keep the UN peacekeeping force (MONUC) at its current strength when its mandate is renewed in February and not to draw down troop numbers prematurely. Despite a difficult start, MONUC has been an essential part of the Congo's transformation. In addition to protecting civilians, the peacekeeping force should concentrate on supporting the new Congolese government in training its security forces--which regularly attack civilians--so they can instead defend the country and protect its citizens.
"While peacekeeping demands in Africa are on the rise, finding troops to protect vulnerable people from Somalia to Sudan should not come at the expense of security for the long-suffering Congolese," said Prodhan. "It is the responsibility of the international community to ensure that the basic human rights of all civilians living under the devastating specter of war are respected."
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"We welcome the President's stated commitment to take on the challenges of hunger, poverty, and disease, particularly in Africa. One important element of the solution is common sense reform to US farm policy by ending subsidies that result in the production of surplus agricultural commodities.
"US subsidies lower the world price of cotton and other commodities, hurting farmers in developing countries who also export these crops and are struggling to survive on less than one dollar a day.
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"Instead of wasting tax dollars on trade distorting subsidies, we believe the President should redirect limited resources to alternative investments in rural America, including the development of renewable fuels.
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"American farmers will benefit, struggling African farmers will benefit, and America's efforts to strengthen our energy security will benefit from this simple policy change."
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It was announced on Friday that the president has decided to extend temporary housing assistance for evacuees for an additional six months beyond the February 28 deadline. This was welcome news for the approximately 128,000 households (or about 384,000 people) still living in trailers, mobile homes, or rental units funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
However, residents and housing advocates call for a longer-term solution to the critical housing needs after the six months are up.
Residents and their supporters will go forward with the planned “Day of Action” on the Gulf Coast today, coordinated by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), in order to focus a spotlight on the long-term housing needs.
NLIHC President Sheila Crowley said, "We are pleased that the president has decided to extend disaster housing assistance for another six months beyond the standard 18 months of FEMA aid. But we will continue to work toward a long-term solution. There was nothing standard about hurricane Katrina. The extent of damage, the numbers of people who were and remain displaced, and the slow pace of recovery are all extraordinary. Until low-income people who lost their homes have new homes to go home to, they must be able to rely on the temporary housing assistance from the federal government."
As part of the "Day of Action," housing and poverty advocates, displaced residents, local officials, and others will hold events today and this week throughout the Gulf Coast. Actions are planned in New Orleans, La.; Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Tex.; Biloxi and Jackson, Miss; Mobile, Ala.; Little Rock, Ark; and Atlanta, Ga.
ACORN chapters are staging press conferences today in New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, Little Rock, and Jackson. (ACORN also held an event last week in Atlanta.)
In New Orleans today, a 1:30 p.m. press conference will be held at the local ACORN office at 1024 Elysian Fields Ave. For more information, call Tanya Harris at 504-427-0687.
In Houston today, ACORN will hold an 11 a.m. rally and press conference with Congressman Al Green at Meadows Place Senior Village Apartments, home to many hurricane survivors. For more information, contact the Houston ACORN chapter at 713-868-7015.
In Jackson today, ACORN and the Katrina Survivors Association will hold an 11 a.m. press conference at the home of a hurricane survivor at 3352 Nashville St. For more information, contact Sonya Murphy at 601-454-1165.
In Biloxi today, the Steps Coalition will hold a 9:30 a.m. prayer service and press conference at 125 Kuhn St., the site of several FEMA trailers next to slabs that are all that remain of homes. For more information, contact Natalie Presley at 228-990-2904.
In Mobile today, a 2 p.m. press conference will feature Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean, whose jurisdiction includes the areas most severely destroyed by the storm, and a representative from Alabama Governor Bob Riley’s office. Sponsored by Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Volunteer Mobile and Volunteers of America, Southeast, the event will be held at the Mobile County Government Building. For more information, contact Craig H. Baab, Alabama Appleseed, at 334-233-7385.
Oxfam America is circulating a petition urging FEMA to extend its housing assistance program for one year. The petition is available online.
Texas Low Income Housing Information Service in Austin will issue a press statement today from leading community leaders. For more information, contact Kristin Carlisle, Development director/Policy analyst, at 512-477-8910, ext. 4.
]]>The talks, which have been held in Juba, southern Sudan, are reportedly in jeopardy due to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) delegation refusal to return to Sudan because of Sudan's threat to eject the LRA's forces from Sudan.
"These talks are the best chance for peace in 20 years. They cannot be allowed to fail. For the sake of the people of northern Uganda, it is crucial that both parties do everything within their power to ensure that these peace talks do not collapse," said Savio Carvalho, Oxfam Country Programme Manager in Uganda.
"The brief respite the people have enjoyed since the ceasefire will come to nought if fighting is allowed to resume -- the international community has a responsibility to help the Ugandan government to protect the civilians from a possible return of violence and needs to inject all its diplomatic energy to persuade both parties to continue talking and come to a just and sustainable settlement," added Mr. Carvalho.
Since the ceasefire of five months ago the people of northern Uganda have enjoyed a semblance of normality. Roads and water boreholes have been constructed and trade with South Sudan promises economic recovery.
An estimated 230,000 people have returned to their homes and begun to put their lives together. Up to 1.4 million people remain in IDP camps due to continued insecurity but travel between the camps and their home areas. Spread over the country-side of northern Uganda these people are now largely unprotected from the threat of an LRA return.
]]>Further reports have also confirmed that bombings have claimed the lives of at least 70 people in the district.
"These reports must be taken seriously. Under international law, there is a duty to distinguish between military and civilian targets. We are deeply concerned that this principle is not being adhered to, and that innocent people in Somalia are paying the price. These communities are already struggling to survive after a severe drought last year was followed by widespread flooding," said Paul Smith-Lomas, Oxfam's Regional Director for Horn, East and Central Africa.
Today, Oxfam and its partners warned that the recent escalation in violence is making it extremely difficult for aid agencies to reach people in need.
Since late December, violence in Somalia has forced an estimated 70,000 people from their homes, and has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation. Last year, Somalia was hit first by severe drought and then the worst flooding in 50 years, leaving some 400,000 people homeless.
Oxfam partner organizations in the region have been providing communities with emergency medical supplies, essential household items, and water chlorination services, as well as distributing food in areas where food is not locally available.
Oxfam is calling on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
]]>Oxfam is also calling on the parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and allow humanitarian agencies access to communities in need.
Currently, Oxfam partners are assisting over 100,000 people in Somalia in response to the recent floods and drought. The response includes distributing food, house-building materials, household utensils and medical supplies.
One of Oxfam's partners, Horn Relief, is delivering plastic sheeting, blankets and jerry cans to 37,200 people in three districts of South Central Somalia, some of the worst affected areas and the most difficult to get to. Horn Relief will also be rehabilitating water sources and providing public health training to women, children and men in the affected areas to decrease the incidence of malaria and diseases that arise from contaminated water supplies.
If the conflict escalates there is the potential for large numbers of refugees to cross the border into Kenya. Oxfam is preparing to respond if necessary and is calling on the Kenyan government and the international community to be prepared to meet the needs of these vulnerable populations by providing adequate food, water and shelter.
Somalia's people live in extremely poor and underdeveloped conditions. Livelihoods are based on subsistence farming and pastoralism with limited opportunity to earn wages. Infant, child and maternal mortality rates are amongst the highest in the world. One in four children dies before reaching the age of five. The average life expectancy in Somalia is estimated at 48 years.
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Oxfam said that the US is still paying billions of dollars in trade-distorting subsidies to its cotton farmers, despite having lost a WTO case against Brazil in 2005. The US Congress must now make more meaningful reforms to agricultural subsidies in order to comply with international trade rules and to stop harming developing country farmers.
"Trade-distorting subsidies are not just unfair, they are illegal," said Gawain Kripke, senior policy advisor for Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. "With the Farm Bill expiring next year, Congress has the opportunity to reform agriculture policies to ensure that supporting US farmers does not undermine the livelihood of millions of poor farmers in Africa and other developing countries."
In 2005, the WTO ruled that US cotton subsidies harmed Brazilian cotton farmers and violated WTO rules. It gave the US until September 2005 to reduce its trade distorting subsidies. Today, Brazil has asked for a WTO "compliance panel" to determine whether the US has done enough to comply with the ruling. The panel has 90 days to make its decision.
"It should be little surprise that a new global trade agreement – the Doha Round - has stalled considering that the US has failed to abide by rules of the last agreement," said Kripke. "Brazil is certainly within its rights to pursue sanctions, especially since the US refused to negotiate serious reforms to US cotton subsidies."
In June 30, 2005, the US Department of Agriculture partly reformed US export credit programs to comply with the ruling, while the US Congress eliminated Step 2 payments at the beginning of this year, which took effect last month. But these programs represent only 10% of the cotton subsidy program and some of the most trade distorting programs, like the counter cyclical payments were left untouched. The US continues to pay billions of dollars in trade distorting subsidies to the largest of it 25,000 cotton producers. In 2005, US cotton subsidies reached almost $5 billion for a crop that was worth less than $4 billion. These subsidies help to depress world cotton prices, hurting developing country cotton farmers including more than 20 million African farmers who rely on cotton for their livelihood.
"The case against trade distorting US subsidies has been proven again and again but US taxpayers are still doling them out, increasing the wealth of the biggest producers, encouraging overproduction and undermining production in developing countries," said Kripke. "But even as Brazil is pushing forward on retaliation, some vested interests and their ready and willing friends in Congress, are calling for a Farm Bill extension to protect the gargantuan amount of taxpayer subsides that go overwhelmingly to a small group of large farming operations."
The suspension of Doha Round negotiations cannot be used as an excuse to delay reforms of the Farm Bill. Oxfam warns that the Brazil cotton case demonstrates how trade distorting US farm programs are vulnerable to challenge. New litigation at the WTO on other commodities, such as rice or corn, may be brought if reforms are not made.
For example, the US has paid over $25 billion to corn farmers over the past five years for a crop that would otherwise have lost $20 billion over the same period. Those subsidies have depressed world prices and caused losses of up to $4 billion for countries like Argentina, Paraguay, and South Africa. Rice farmers in the US receive over a billion dollars a year in subsidies, which equals the total value of the US crop. Major rice exporters such as Guyana, India, Suriname, Thailand, and Uruguay could all have strong claims against the US.
"The WTO mechanism for settling trade disputes is an expensive, complicated option of last resort," said Kripke. "Poor countries shouldn't have to seek development through litigation, but with the collapse of the Doha round and the unwillingness of the US to take its international obligations seriously, litigation is one of the few options available."
]]>Tense negotiations over the last few weeks have exposed disagreement amongst governments, with some countries, including Italy and Canada, reluctant even to reiterate promises made two years ago in Gleneagles to increase aid to poor countries, and others, led by the US, blocking progress on climate change.
Negotiations on the Africa communiqué were not concluded last week as planned, and emergency discussions between G8 officials are being hastily scheduled for early next week.
Max Lawson, Senior Policy Advisor at Oxfam said: "Talks are going down to the wire and it is astounding that the G8 may not even be willing to reiterate the pledges they made in 2005 to increase aid for Africa. They are failing to live up to what they promised, and now they are trying to hide from their responsibility."
In 2005 the G8 promised to increase overall annual aid levels by $50 billion by 2010, and said that half of this increase - $25 billion - would go to Africa. Oxfam has shown that on current trends, the G8 are likely to miss the target by $30 billion, with the main culprits being Italy, where aid is falling, France, where aid is stagnant, and Germany, whose aid increases are far from enough to meet the promises made in Gleneagles.
Specific financial commitments on HIV/AIDS and education are also being resisted in favor of noncommittal platitudes. Proposals for annual monitoring of aid increases linked to the regular meeting of G8 finance ministers have been quietly ditched. Reports suggest that the G8 chair, Germany, is not pushing this issue as much as it could, in contrast to the strong leadership being shown on the climate issue.
Lawson: "Climate change is a massive challenge, to which all rich-country governments must respond with more money for adaptation and measures to reduce emissions and limit warming to as far below 2 degrees as possible. However, the drive to get agreement on climate must not detract from vital debates on aid. G8 summits must not be simply about making promises, but also about keeping them."
Oxfam said the failure of some G8 countries to increase aid stands in contrast to the welcome announcement yesterday from the US of an extra $30 billion over 5 years to fight HIV-AIDS.
Lawson: "There is still time for the G8 to get this right. Out of this meeting we need to see clear annual timetables for the promised aid increases, which will be publicly monitored by finance ministers. The money is desperately needed to help save lives and boost development in Africa and around the world. The G8's credibility rests on their ability to follow through."
]]>On the eve of a floor vote on the 2007 Farm Bill in the House of Representatives, a survey of likely voters in 42 freshmen (43 districts, including GA-12) Democratic districts shows that more than six in 10 voters in those districts support reform of the Farm Bill and a commodity payment system that currently provides few benefits to small family farmers who need the help most.
In fact, the Lake Research Poll reveals a number oputs freshmen at risk:
| MYTH: ><td> | Voters in freshmen districts believe it’s important to maintain the current
commodity payment system. > > |
| FACT: | VOTERS IN FRESHMEN DISTRICTS BELIEVE THE FARM BILL NEEDS REFORM. A
solid majority (61%) of likely voters believes the Farm Bill is in need of either “major
reform” (33%) or “minor reform” (28%). Only 5 percent are content with the status quo.
Thirty-three percent are unsure about reforming the Farm Bill. > > |
| MYTH: | Voters in freshmen districts believe the current Farm Bill helps small family
farmers. > > |
| FACT: | VOTERS IN FRESHMAN DISTRICTS STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE FARM BILL
DISADVANTAGES SMALL FARMS COMPARED TO LARGE CORPORATE FARMS.
Nearly 8-in-10 (79%) agree that the current Farm Bill puts small farms at a disadvantage
compared to large corporate farms (64% agree strongly). Just 8 percent disagree. > > |
| MYTH: | Maintaining the commodity payment system is more important to voters than
funding for other farm bill programs like conservation, nutrition and energy
alternatives. > > |
| FACT: | VOTERS BELIEVE THAT CONSERVATION, ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, AND HEALTHY
FOOD ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF FARM BILL REFORM. When
asked how “important” specific reforms of the Farm Bill are to voters personally—with 10
meaning “very important” and 0 meaning “not at all important”—developing renewable
sources of energy (8.4 out of 10), conservation programs (framed in the survey as clean
water, preservation of farmland, and protection of wildlife habitats) (8.3), and developing
and marketing healthier food crops (8.0) top the list of reforms. Roughly similar
percentages believe these reforms are “good ideas” (8.4, 8.3, and 8.2, respectively). > > |
| MYTH: | Voters want Congress to provide funding for conservation, alternative energy,
nutrition and other reform priorities from sources other than reduced commodity
payments. > > |
| FACT: | VOTERS STRONGLY SUPPORT REFORMING THE FARM BILL AND SHIFTING TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES IN ORDER TO PAY FOR CONSERVATION, DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY, HEALTHIER FOOD CHOICES, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, AND ANTI-HUNGER PROGRAMS. Solid majorities (62%) support efforts to reform the Farm Bill along these lines. |
“Faced with the facts – namely that a status quo farm bill is the least desirable option and that nearly two- thirds of likely voters in freshmen Districts want farm bill reform – will the Congress continue to squander the opportunity to bring about real reform to the current Farm Bill . . . reform their constituents are demanding,” asked Jim Lyons, vice president for policy and communications for Oxfam America?
]]>The report, "Investing for Life," looks at the world’s top 12 pharmaceutical companies, including their drug pricing policies, their record in developing medicines relevant to poorer countries and their stance on protecting intellectual property rights.
Oxfam says the industry is failing to ensure universal access to medicines because it refuses to put the issue at the heart of its business model. As a result, it is failing to capture the full potential of emerging markets touted as the "new frontier" for its business success.
According to a major consultancy firm, a loss of faith in the industry on the part of its investors has so far cost pharmaceutical's shareholders $1 trillion dollars.
“The industry is burying its head in the sand. More than 85% of world consumers are underserved or have no access to its medicines. The industry must recognise that charging high prices, quashing generic competition, developing medicines only for those rich enough to pay and fighting for harsher patent laws is an ineffective business strategy for new markets, as much as it is a moral outrage,” said Jeremy Hobbs, Oxfam International executive director.
“Investors are worried about the industry’s performance. They know that emerging markets are key for the industry’s future growth but companies have been responding to the challenge of breaking into emerging markets in an ad-hoc and inconsistent way. This is bad for the industry and bad for poor people who are still facing devastating diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, asthma, cancer, and HIV/AIDS without affordable medicines,” Hobbs said.
The report reveals shortcomings where the industry:
Oxfam notes that some companies are offering differentiated prices but this is extremely limited and mainly for high-profile diseases such as HIV and AIDS.
However, these offers are not systematic worldwide and are often still priced well above the means of people living in developing countries. Oxfam says that drug companies often adapt pricing in developing countries solely as a reflection of the publicity that surrounds the disease or the country.
For instance, Abbott Laboratories was selling Kaletra—a second line anti-retroviral medicine—at $2,200 per patient per year in low middle-income countries like Guatemala, where a person’s average wage is $2,400 a year. Only until Thailand, in response to the needs of poor HIV patients, issued a compulsory license to reduce the price of Kaletra to $1,000, did Abbott reduce the price of Kaletra worldwide to $1,000 per patient per year. Also in Thailand, French giant Sanofi-Aventis offered its cardiovascular disease medicine Plavix at a price that was 60 times more expensive than Emcure, the Indian generic version. In March 2007, it responded to Thailand’s use of compulsory licensing by offering a 70% cut.
Oxfam’s report says that companies are still not investing enough into researching and developing medicines for diseases that predominantly affect poor people in developing countries. Between 1999 and 2004, there were only three new innovative drugs targeted at diseases affecting the developing world out of 163 medicines brought to the market.
“Even people suffering from tuberculosis—which kills nearly two million people a year—need six months of treatment and the most recent medicine is 30 years old,” said Helena Vines-Fiestas, author of the report.
On the industry’s approach to intellectual property rights, Vines-Fiestas continued: “High levels of intellectual property protection have not resulted in new cures for diseases that affect poor people.”
Despite this, the report notes that the industry continues to insist that the global intellectual property regime does not prevent poor people from accessing affordable medicines. Oxfam says not only is the industry’s view narrow-minded and wrong, but that the evidence is overwhelming that generic competition is the most effective and proven method to reduce drug prices.
In recent years companies have mounted legal challenges or exerted direct pressure to protect their patents against the legitimate use of safeguards in Thailand, Brazil and India. “These challenges are made at the direct expense of poor people,” Oxfam said.
Pfizer even challenged the Philippines government over their use of public health safeguards in relation to the drug Norvasc.
“The industry is failing to make the systematic changes needed to serve developing country markets and meet its responsibility to make medicines universally available. Public pressure will intensify if companies continue to offer only patchy concessions, for example around high profile diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria,” said Vines-Fiestas.
The report concludes by arguing that companies will need to revamp their approaches on pricing structures, R&D investment and patent policies in order to serve these markets and make its medicines more accessible to poor people. Companies should adapt to the realities of developing country markets because up to 80 per cent of people in developing countries are vulnerable to falling or staying below the poverty line if they have to bear the cost of expensive medicines, particularly where treatment is long-term.
“The industry is operating in a short-sighted way because it could gain enormous benefits from emerging markets, including lower research and development costs and cheaper manufacturing. Yet instead it continues to blindly use its same strategies in poor countries. Even today, the richest 15% of the world consumes over 90% of its pharmaceuticals. At this rate, both the industry and millions of sick patients are losing out,” concluded Jeremy Hobbs.
]]>The modifications negotiated by the Democratic leadership after the agreement was signed and now included in the text take important steps toward making trade work for people living in poverty but remain insufficient to overcome the agreement’s adverse effects on development and poverty reduction in Peru, according to Oxfam. In its current form, this agreement still fails to address development needs as one of its core objectives.
“While trade could be an engine to pull millions out of poverty, this agreement will institutionalize an uneven playing field between the US and Peru,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Although we appreciate the House leadership’s determination to make this agreement better, provisions on agriculture, investment and intellectual property still do not add up to a good deal for farmers, workers and consumers in Peru."
According to Oxfam and other civil society leaders, the agreement fails to take into account US agriculture subsidies, meaning that Peru's small farmers will face massive dumping of subsidized farm products on their market.
“By fully opening Peru’s markets to subsidized US agricultural products, this trade agreement will destroy our domestic agriculture, threaten our food security and increase social problems,” said Luis Zúñiga, president of the National Convention of Peruvian Agriculture (Conveagro). “Farmers’ demands for greater public investment in and modernization of the agricultural sector have gone unmet over many years, but now our needs will be far greater and the threat to our livelihoods far worse.”
The agreement makes it easier for foreign investors to operate in Peru, but it also leaves the government with a weakened ability to enact or enforce its own laws on public health, safety, and the environment. In addition, modifications made on intellectual property remain insufficient to enable Peru to promote access to affordable medicines for all.
“Oxfam welcomes the significant achievement by Congressional leaders to reduce the onerous requirements for intellectual property protections for pharmaceuticals in the agreement, as it will make a real difference in preserving access to affordable medicines, a critical need for the poor,” said Offenheiser. “But more is needed on the intellectual property front and others, to really turn this into a pro-development deal.”
Nearly half of Peru’s 28 million inhabitants live in poverty, the majority of them in rural areas. Agriculture is the main source of income in rural areas and generates nearly a third of all employment nationally. About 90 percent of land under cultivation is dedicated to basic crops that supply the domestic market, like rice, wheat, corn, barley, and cotton.
“The trade agreement’s adverse effects on Peruvians will outweigh its limited benefits, which will primarily accrue to a limited group of exporters, whose current duty-free access to the US under the Andean Trade Preferences Act will be made permanent, continued Offenheiser.
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