PHA-Exch> [Fwd: [Fwd: [Fwd: Civil Society Statement on Access to Avian Flu Vaccines]]]

[martin khor]

*Please place on PHA Exchange list serve...thanks.


PLEASE SIGN ON TO STATEMENT ON WHO MEETING ON
AVIAN FLU VIRUS AND ACCESS TO VACCINES (20-23 NOV) *


Dear friends

As you may know the issue of sharing of avian flu virus and sharing of 
benefits from the use of virus (especially access to affordable 
vaccines) has been a very hot issue especially at World Health 
Assembly in May.  At the WHA many groups including PHM and 
groups and individuals at PHM signed on to a joint
statement on this issue.

The WHA mandated that an inter-governmental meeting (all countries
invited to attend) be held to discuss a reform of the whole global influenza
network system (now operating under WHO).  It will meet in Geneva on
20-23 November.

Some developing countries are now thinking what they should 
propose in terms of establishing a system which will give public 
health benefits such as vaccines, technology transfer so that 
poorer countries can also produce their own 
vaccines, stockpile of pandemic influenza vaccines etc.

We think that the patents linked to the vaccines and technologies should 
also be regulated and limited, so as to allow better access.

Below is a draft of a joint CSO statement.  I urge you to read it and if 
you agree then to sign on to it.  We will then convey the 
statement to the media as well as to the delegations that are 
coming to the meeting on 20-23 Nov.

Please send your response to Sangeeta of TWN
at her email address --  ssangeeta at myjaring.net

Please also send this on to other groups that you know.

Thank you very much.

Best regards
Martin Khor
Third World Network and Peoples Health Movement




Dear All,

In view of the upcoming WHO Meeting on Influenza Virus Sharing and
Benefit Sharing on 20 –23rd Nov 2007 please find below a joint civil
society statement which we hope your organisation is able to sign on to.

If you would like to sign on please state your name, organisation and
country and email it to ssangeeta at myjaring.net

Kindly also forward this email to other interested groups.

Best Wishes
Sangeeta




*JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT

The WHO Meeting on Influenza Virus Sharing and Benefit Sharing 
Should Establish New Framework To Ensure Developing 
Countries’ Access to Influenza Vaccines and Technology
*

We the civil society organisations listed below are concerned about the
present imbalanced  system on influenza in which countries are asked to
contribute viruses to the WHO global influenza system but in which the
developing countries are not assured they can have access to vaccines
and other health products required to deal with the problem of influenza.

In particular we are concerned that: (1) many patent applications have
been filed for influenza viruses or their parts and vaccines (and
methods to produce them), which can increase the problems of access to
vaccines for developing countries;  and (2) in the event of a breakout
of pandemic influenza (which experts fear has the potential to cause
many millions of deaths) there is no assurance that countries in
greatest need will have access to vaccines or treatment due to high
prices and lack of supplies especially in developing countries.

We are encouraged that the World Health Assembly in its May 2007 session
decided to deal with these problems by establishing an
inter-governmental meeting to discuss the sharing of viruses and the
sharing of benefits.

We call on Member States of the World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting
at the Intergovernmental Meeting in Geneva on 20-23rd November to
establish a fair and equitable framework that ensures that developing
countries have timely access to adequate and affordable vaccines,
diagnostics and other medical products, and that they have immediate
access to all the tools and knowledge needed for local production of
vaccines and anti-virals, which are required for them to prepare for a
possible pandemic.

The framework must not put commercial interests and profits before
public health and must ensure that developing countries’ needs and
interests are reflected and prioritized.

The framework must also prevent the misappropriation of biological
resources. For a long time, countries have been contributing influenza
viruses to laboratories from developed countries designated by WHO,
which then in turn pass on the viruses and/or parts of it contained in
vaccine seed viruses to companies without the permission of the
contributing country, in violation of the WHO March 2005 Guidance.

In fact, several companies/institutions including a WHO designated
laboratory are seeking patents on viruses, parts of the viruses and on
products derived from the influenza viruses such as vaccines. These
companies and institutions see this as an occasion to obtain patents and
extra profits, and there has been a rapid increase in patenting activity
related to avian influenza,

Developing countries cannot afford the expensive vaccines especially if
entire or major parts of the populations have to be vaccinated.

Availability of vaccines in a timely manner and in sufficient quantities
is also a major problem in the event of a pandemic as current global
supply capacity is only at about 500 million doses, much less than
potential demand of the billions of doses needed. Thus acute shortages
particularly in the developing world are foreseen as developed countries
having financial and other resources are already booking in advance
treatments including vaccines for pre-pandemic and pandemic use.

The ability to locally and/or regionally produce adequate vaccines is a
critical element in any pandemic preparedness. However many of the
technologies and the know-how needed to develop and produce vaccines are
also either protected by proprietary rights and/or not easily accessible
to developing countries.

The current framework favours industry and the developed countries that
have the financial resources to build up stockpiles of pre-pandemic
vaccines and to purchase in advance pandemic vaccines.

According to WHO the world is presently at a phase 3 pandemic alert (out
of 6 phases) and is now closer to another influenza pandemic than at any
time since 1968.

In the event of a global pandemic, it is likely to be 'each country for
itself', with those countries that have stockpiled vaccines being
reluctant to share their stockpile of vaccines with other countries. An
international stockpile would also have limited use. Developing
countries including countries that have contributed their viruses are
likely to face an acute shortage of badly-needed vaccines and medical
products.

This issue reflects current inequities in the global health system.

We call on WHO Member States to take immediate action to correct the
situation.


*Our action proposals:

*1.   We call on WHO Member States to establish a new, fair and
equitable framework on influenza viruses and sharing of benefits arising
from the utilization of the influenza viruses.

2.  The priority of the framework should be to meet public health needs,
particularly that of developing countries.  The framework should:

(a) recognise the principles of national sovereignty over biological
resources, prior informed consent, and fair and equitable sharing of
benefits arising from the utilization of the viruses (and parts thereof
such as sequence data).  Benefit-sharing has to be specific and
mandatory to enable adequate benefits to developing countries as the
core of the framework.

(b) ensure that institutions and companies receiving the viruses or
products containing parts of the viruses are required to adhere to
ethical and equitable conditions, including the sharing of benefits to
developing countries and to those that contribute their viruses in line
with their health needs.

(c) ensure that the WHO designated laboratories, companies and other
institutions do not patent the viruses or parts thereof such as the gene
sequences and derived products (e.g. vaccines). This is especially since
the potential influenza pandemic represents an international public
health threat of major and possibly catastrophic proportions and this
requires public health needs to be given highest priority.

(d) ensure that an adequate portion of the limited global supply of
vaccines are set aside for WHO-organised  international/regional
stockpiles for the use of developing countries and made available on the
basis of need and either free or at an affordable cost.

(e) Ensure that developing countries that (in addition to the supplies
in the WHO stockpile) wish to purchase vaccines should have access to
these at an affordable price;

(f) establish systems by which scarce vaccines/anti-virals can be
produced, stocked and distributed according to the principles of public
health needs (where and when they are needed) and not according to
financial, technological capacity and power (i.e. vaccines channelled to
those who can pay for them).

(g) oblige developed country governments and the private sector to share
technologies and know-how (in relation to influenza-related vaccines and
other health products) with developing countries and provide the
necessary capacity building  in order to promote local/regional
pharmaceutical R&D and production activities in developing countries,
including by not-for-profit and public-owned organizations.

(h) Take concrete measures to build capacity in developing countries and
their regions on  activities needed for influenza risk assessment (.e.g
identifying viral shift, drift or mutations) and risk response
(preparedness for influenza epidemic/pandemic including developing seed
viruses, diagnostic test kits); at present such capacity exists mostly
in developed countries.

3. Developing countries should be assisted to build the capacity of
their public health system to ensure an effective delivery of health
services in the event of a pandemic.

------ End of Forwarded Message





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