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From: Nance <nance at aids-bells.org>


ZIMBABWE BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY TO INVOKE DECLARATION ON TRIPS AND PUBLIC
HEALTH

On 27 May, Zimbabwe became the first state to declare a national
HIV/AIDS emergency -- thereby freeing itself from its obligations to
respect relevant HIV/AIDS drugs patents under the WTO's Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). The six-
month emergency declaration lifts all legal restrictions that block
access to generic medicines. According to Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF), a humanitarian medical aid agency, the move would slash the
annual costs of treatment for a variety of AIDS drugs by nearly one
fourth, from around USD 1,168 per person to just over USD 400 --
effectively doubling the number of patients that could be treated by
available resources. In a country where one in five people are infected
with the HIV virus and 2500 people die every week, the move marks the
first instance of the invocation of the Doha Declaration on TRIPs and
Public Health, which clarifies that WTO Members can waive patent
obligations imposed by the TRIPs Agreement in times of public health
crises which constitute 'a national emergency'. Some AIDS experts have
questioned the move however, pointing to, inter alia, the short time
period of the emergency, the lack of foreign exchange to order the
needed drugs, as well as the lack of qualified personnel to facilitate
the delivery of the services required in the use of many HIV/AIDS drugs.

"Activists Applaud Zimbabwe Action On AIDS Drugs," REUTERS, 29 May
2002. "Question Mark Greets New Aids Directive" FINANCIAL GAZETTE
(Harare), 30 May 2002.