Africa is home to more than 30 million of the 42 million people worldwide living with HIV/AIDS. Of these 30 million people, only about 1% are receiving anti-retroviral drugs. Globally, 95% of people living with HIV/AIDS have no access to the life-prolonging treatments that have cut the AIDS death rates so dramatically here in the US and other wealthy countries. Access to these treatments is restricted by the high cost charged by pharmaceutical companies that use the intellectual property rights regime and patent system to protect their profits. The denial of affordable access to treatment is tantamount to imposing a death sentence on millions of Africans living with HIV/AIDS. It is murder by patent.
Treatment is an essential part of the strategy to defeat the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Effective treatment is crucial in prevention efforts and in improving the overall delivery of care. Improvement of treatment strategies and accessibility will allow people living with HIV/AIDS to protect their health, raise their children, and continue living productive lives. Ensuring access to essential medicines and care for all those living with HIV/AIDS is a global obligation.
In recent years, the price of AIDS drugs has decreased. The reduction in cost came about as a result of market dynamics influenced by competition from generic drug-makers. (The producers of generic AIDS medication and anti-retroviral medicines make the price per treatment significantly cheaper.) Worldwide public activism against the pharmaceutical industry in favor of equal access to medicines is another major factor influencing the decline in prices. Under the existing international trade rules, African governments can make use of compulsory licensing and parallel imports to obtain cheaper anti-AIDS medication for their people. The US government has led the fight against these options. The Bush Administration is closely allied with the pharmaceutical industry.
Even recent agreements reached in Geneva on international property rights present new obstacles that make it very difficult for African governments to acquire generic anti-AIDS drugs for their people.
Salih Booker is the executive director of Africa Action.
