E-DRUG: E-DRUG WHO urged to Champion Public Health in Global Trade Deba

[bas@hai.antenna.nl]

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E-DRUG WHO urged to Champion Public Health in Global Trade Deba

PRESS RELEASE
Health Action International
May 26, 1998

WHO Urged to Champion Public Health in Global Trade Debate 

HAI urges the World Health Organization's new Director General, Dr.
Gro Harlem Brundtland, to show firm leadership when she takes office
in July 1998 to ensure that public health goals receive priority over
commercial interests. 

This call comes after last week's 51st World Health Assembly in Geneva
where member states were unable to reach consensus on the Revised Drug
Strategy resolution proposed by the WHO's Executive Board.  

Before and during the Assembly, the brand-name pharmaceutical industry
and representatives from several industrialised countries expressed
strong opposition to the Executive Board resolution. They particularly
disagreed with a provision stating "public health interests rather
than commercial interests have �primacy' in pharmaceutical and health
policies" and that countries "review options under the Agreement on
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to
safeguard access to essential drugs". 

Unfortunately, by using scare tactics and casting the issue in extreme
terms, some industry supporters were able to hide the real controversy
behind intellectual property rights. As James Love, Director of the
Consumer Project for Technology, present at the Assembly, said: "The
issue is not whether or not there will be a patent system, but rather:
what will the patent system look like, and who will decide? The issue
is not who will benefit, but who will benefit the most, and which
alternatives best achieve public health goals." 					 Some areas where
public health priorities should be considered in trade disputes
include: 
�	the pricing of drugs developed with public funds;
�	compulsory licensing of essential drugs in poor countries;
�	parallel imports of pharmaceuticals.

"I was amazed to see delegates at a forum which sets priorities for
world health policies opposing wording that placed public health above
trade" said Bas van der Heide, coordinator of HAI-Europe. "Even
international trade agreements provide provisions to allow public
health to take priority in certain situations."

HAI has called on WHO to uphold its international mandate to safeguard
public health related to international trade issues. WHO guidance on
trade issues will continue to be necessary to identify how much
freedom member states have to enact legislation that both conforms
with trade agreements and is consistent with health policy.

However, behind-the-scenes maneuvering at the WHA cast large
doubts on some countries commitment to this mandate. At the WHA, a
small drafting group was unable to reach compromise wording on the
Revised Drug Strategy draft resolution until the day before the
week-long meeting ended. This meant that there was no longer
sufficient time for a real debate on the resolution by the full
committee. Although many countries had signalled that they wanted to
speak on the resolution, the debate was pre-empted at the suggestion
of the US and Italian delegates and referred back to the WHO Executive
Board with the understanding that an ad-hoc working group would be set
up to draft a resolution for consideration by the Executive Board in
1999. 

HAI is very concerned about this future process for a number of
reasons. At the WHA, a few developed countries were able to block an
open discussion on the implications of trade agreements. A working
group open to all member states and meeting in Geneva is likely to be
dominated by nearby and rich countries.

"The fact that this discussion was cut short was a missed
opportunity," said Roberto Lopez, coordinator of Acci�n Internacional
para la Salud (AIS). "Delegations were clearly prepared to give their
views on these important and complex issues--but they did not have the
chance. Now it is crucial that developing countries and NGOs
representing consumers and the public interest take part in the
working group's discussions." 

For more information about the drug policy and trade issues discussed
at the World Health Assembly, contact: Bas van der Heide
HAI-Europe						 Jacob van Lennepkade 334-T 1053 NJ Amsterdam, The
Netherlands tel: (+31-20)683 3684    fax: (+31-20)685 5002 
e-mail:hai@hai.antenna.nl  Website: http://www.haiweb.org

For more detailed information on public health consequences of
intellectual property agreements see the website of the Consumer
Project on Technology: P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 USA tel:
(+1-202)387 8030   fax: (+1-202)234 5176 
e-mail: love@cptech.org  Website: http://www.cptech.org 


|
| Health Action International Europe, Jacob van Lennepkade 334 T
| 1053 NJ Amsterdam, Netherlands. 
| Tel. +31-(0)20.6833684  Fax +31-(0)20.6855002
| www.haiweb.org



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