[e-drug] Ethiopia Strikes Deal to Import Discounted AIDS Drugs

[andy@healthlink.org.za]

E-DRUG: Ethiopia Strikes Deal to Import Discounted AIDS Drugs
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[crossposted from DRUG-INFO with thanks; NN]

Hi all

Sometimes events seem to move so fast - these two stories are
from the Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report - the first from 7 August, the
second from 8 Aug 2001 (copied from AFRO-NETS, with thanks).
However, in addition to the leeway provided for least developed
countries in the TRIPS agreement (compliance being required only
from 2006), patents are also often not taken out by manufacturers
in countries with very small markets. It is important to remember
that while there are some regional agreements on patents (where a
single filing confers patent protection in the member countries),
there is no such thing as a worldwide patent.

regards
Andy
~~~~

Ethiopians Rally for Cheaper AIDS Drugs

Thousands of Ethiopians rallied in the streets of Addis Ababa on
Sunday, calling on the government to pass legislation allowing for
the importation of cheaper generic AIDS medications,
Reuters/Contra Costa Times reports. The rally, organized by Dawn
of Hope, a charity run by HIV-positive people, was intended to
encourage the Ethiopian government to "follow the example" of
South Africa and Kenya, which have both passed laws allowing for
the importation and manufacture of generic AIDS drugs. "We
appeal to the government to make life-prolonging drugs available
without delay, as is being done in the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. If
they are imported tax-free, people like us who cannot afford the
expensive medicines might be able to prolong our lives," Tadesse
Aynalem of Dawn of Hope said to the protestors. According to
officials at the Ethiopian HIV/AIDS Secretariat, the agency is
working to make cheaper antiretroviral medications available to
the public within the next three months and is also "encourag[ing]"
local drug makers to produce the drugs, which have "dramatically"
reduced the number of AIDS-related deaths in the United States
and Europe. The Ethiopian government announced plans in June for
a five-year public awareness campaign designed to promote safer
sex. The campaign "warn[s]" that if HIV transmission is not "rapidly
controlled," a third of all Ethiopians between the ages of 15 and 20
could die of AIDS-related complications. Nearly three million of
the country's 60 million people are infected with HIV, and there are
more than 900,000 AIDS orphans in Ethiopia (Reuters/Contra
Costa Times, 8/5).

Ethiopia Strikes Deal to Import Discounted AIDS Drugs

Ethiopia's health ministry announced yesterday that it has struck
an accord with unnamed international pharmaceutical companies
to import 10 antiretroviral drugs at discounted prices, the
Associated Press reports. The list of approved drugs has been
given to 32 local pharmaceutical importers, according to health
ministry spokesperson Ahmed Emanu. Although he did not
disclose the companies, drugs or prices settled on in the deal,
Emanu did say that the "only condition attached" by the
companies was that Ethiopia must establish a "strict control
mechanism to ensure that the drugs are not passed to third
countries." Plans for importing the drugs are already "underway,"
he added. Secretary-General of the National HIV/AIDS Prevention
and Control Council Dr. Dagnachew Haile Mariam said that the
government now needs to "equip laboratories and train health
workers" to ensure that the drugs are properly administered. About
10,000 people rallied in Addis Ababa over the weekend calling on
the government to "waive any duties or taxes on the drugs." Ahmed
said their request was "under consideration," but added that no
final decision had been made. More than half a million people have
died of AIDS-related complications in the last 18 months and the
15-year death toll from the disease is expected to reach 1.7
million by the end of the year (Andualem, Associ- ated
Press, 8/7).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Andy Gray
Discipline Chair: Pharmacy Practice
School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology
University of Durban-Westville
andy@healthlink.org.za
PO Box 1580 Westville 3630
Tel: 27-31-2044358  Fax: 27-31-2044792

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