Ethical Challenges in Global Health Policy
Location
Harkins 300
Event Website
http://www.providence.edu/hpm/Pages/Conference.aspx
Start Date
23-3-2013 1:45 PM
End Date
23-3-2013 3:00 PM
Description
Lack of access to medicines is a hurdle for many countries, especially developing nations, in their fight against serious health problems. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has frequently been scrutinized regarding its impact on access to essential medicines after its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) created a framework for the protection of physical and intellectual goods. The main goal of TRIPS is to promote scientific development through patents, but the repercussions of this monopoly over drug production sparked opposition from developing nations, specifically Brazil and South Africa (Dounis 2011, 3). This paper aims to explore how the actions of Brazil and South Africa impacted the World Trade Organization. Brazil and South Africa utilized the loopholes in the TRIPS Agreement to produce national legislation allowing for compulsory licensing and parallel importation of antiretroviral medication, respectively. Public and NGO support of the right to health and the increasing AIDS epidemic forced the WTO to re-evaluate its impact on health and reject the formal complaints of the United States and other major pharmaceutical companies that opposed Brazil and South Africa’s actions. This paper argues that the national policies of Brazil and South Africa, which addressed concerns regarding the TRIPS Agreement, led to the Doha Declaration and ultimately to a recognition of trade’s impact on the health sector, the importance of multi-sector alliances, and the increased representativeness of the WTO.
A Developing Say Against AIDS
Harkins 300
Lack of access to medicines is a hurdle for many countries, especially developing nations, in their fight against serious health problems. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has frequently been scrutinized regarding its impact on access to essential medicines after its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) created a framework for the protection of physical and intellectual goods. The main goal of TRIPS is to promote scientific development through patents, but the repercussions of this monopoly over drug production sparked opposition from developing nations, specifically Brazil and South Africa (Dounis 2011, 3). This paper aims to explore how the actions of Brazil and South Africa impacted the World Trade Organization. Brazil and South Africa utilized the loopholes in the TRIPS Agreement to produce national legislation allowing for compulsory licensing and parallel importation of antiretroviral medication, respectively. Public and NGO support of the right to health and the increasing AIDS epidemic forced the WTO to re-evaluate its impact on health and reject the formal complaints of the United States and other major pharmaceutical companies that opposed Brazil and South Africa’s actions. This paper argues that the national policies of Brazil and South Africa, which addressed concerns regarding the TRIPS Agreement, led to the Doha Declaration and ultimately to a recognition of trade’s impact on the health sector, the importance of multi-sector alliances, and the increased representativeness of the WTO.
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/auchs/2013/panelc1/2
