PHM-Exch> MSF Press Conference - EU-India FTA Threatens Millions Living with HIV

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Meghana Bahar meghana at haiap.org

Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Fronteres (MSF) Press Conference in
Brussels on Monday, April 26th

India-EU Free Trade Agreement Threatens Millions Living with HIV

India and the European Union are about to conclude negotiations for a free
trade agreement.

This agreement poses a threat to the production in India of generic drugs
and their export to developing countries. 92% of HIV/AIDS patients in the
developing world depend on generic drugs that mostly come from India.

The EU can't sacrifice the lives of millions of people living with HIV for
commercial interests.

Over 80% of the antiretroviral drugs that MSF uses in its AIDS projects
throughout the world are produced in India, dubbed the 'pharmacy of the
developing world'.

If this agreement were to be signed as it now stands, the consequences for
access to medicines would be dramatic, and could shut down production of
generic drugs in India - leaving millions of patients without treatment.


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Guillaume Bonnet, Press officer
Doctors Without Borders / Medecins Sans Frontieres
http://www.msfaccess.org
Guillaume.Bonnet at geneva.msf.org
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