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Two media reports covered a protest that was organized by Stop HIV-AIDS in India, an initiative supported by AID. Saturday, 08 July , 2006, 04:19 Washington: Activists, professionals and organisations involved in the HIV/AIDScampaign plan to hold a peaceful demonstration outside the Embassy of India on Saturday to protest the government's Drug Policy which is seen as puttingglobal access to AIDS medication at risk.
The organisers will be delivering a petition to the embassy urging India not to
adopt new amendments that will limit affordable AIDS medications worldwide.
"At this moment, the Indian government is considering adding Data Exclusivity
provisions in an amendment to the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
These provisions would negatively affect India's ability to provide affordable
generic drugs to millions of people around the world living with diseases such
as HIV/AIDS, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and many more.
"As India is one of the largest global suppliers of low-cost medicines, without
access to these generic drugs, millions of people in developing countries will
die," the organisers said in a release ahead of the planned demonstration.
"Current Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPs)
regulations, part of World Trade Organization rules, do not include data
exclusivity clauses and thus India is not obligated to impose data exclusivity
laws."
The World Health Organization has additionally affirmed this view, yet pressure
from the United States and multinational pharmaceutical companies to enact data
exclusivity provisions is strong, it has been maintained.
Health activists plan protest on data exclusivity before Indian Embassy in US, today Saturday, July 08, 2006 08:00 IST
Our Bureau, New Delhi
In an gesture of support to the cause of Indian civil society organizations fighting government move to introduce data exclusivity in drugs, US based health activists and professionals led by organizations like Stop HIV/AIDS in India Initiative, Association for India's Development-CP, Students Global AIDS Campaign and American Medical Students Association have called for a peaceful demonstration before Indian Embassy in Washington, United States, on July 8, 2006. The activists would deliver a petition signed by hundreds of people at the Indian Embassy urging India not to adopt new amendments that would limit affordable AIDS medications worldwide.
The activists complain that the proposed amendment to Drugs and Cosmetics Act to add data exclusivity provisions would negatively affect India's ability to provide affordable generic drugs to millions of people around the world living with diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and many more. "As India is one of the largest global suppliers of low-cost medicines, without access to these generic drugs, millions of people in developing countries will die," they fear. "6.5 million people in the world need HIV treatment today and only 1.3 million are getting it. 70,000 children in India need ARV treatment urgently and only 1048 are getting it. In India, less than 4 per cent HIV-positive pregnant women get counselling or ARV prophylaxis to prevent transmission to the child. It is a fight between profits of the multinational pharmaceutical companies and lives of the people." We aim to expose this devastating trade-off and the associated harmful effects that data exclusivity provisions will have on our collective worldwide health. We also intend to both urge and demand that the Indian government stand up to the immense pressure of multinational pharmaceutical companies and maintain its leadership to provide affordable medicines to the people globally. Dr Vineeta Gupta of Stop HIV/AIDS in India Initiative stated. Stating that the current Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPs) regulations, part of World Trade Organization rules, do not include data exclusivity clauses and thus India is not obligated to impose data exclusivity laws, the activists want the global civil society to know that the reason for India contemplating data exclusivity norms 'is the pressure from the United States and multinational pharmaceutical companies to enact data exclusivity provisions'. |
