Oxfam Asks US to Agree to Affordable Meds for All
5 February 2003
Washington, D.C.--Development agency Oxfam America urges the Bush administration to keep its promise to poor countries and safeguard their access to affordable medicines. WTO members have set an informal deadline of Feb 10 for reaching agreement on how best to do so under WTO patent rules. Every year, millions of poor people die because the medicines that would save or prolong their lives are too expensive.
In 2001, WTO members unanimously agreed that public health should take priority over patent rights. Recognizing that patented drugs are often priced out of the reach of developing countries, the US and its trading partners promised to find a solution that would provide all countries with access to cheap generics for diseases such as HIV/AIDS.
"President Bush recognizes the importance of affordable generic medicines in the fight against HIV/AIDS.” said Oxfam America President Raymond C. Offenheiser. “We ask the US to apply that principle to all diseases.” The USTR has sought to limit the solution to only HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In December, negotiations on this issue broke down when the US refused to back a compromise agreed to by every other WTO member. With the February deadline approaching, Oxfam calls on the USTR to back a multilateral solution so that countries will be able to obtain the medicines they need to fight public health problems. This issue must be resolved in WTO negotiations, not unilaterally by individual members.
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