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Sunday, May 19, 2024
News and Views from the Global South
Bitter Pill: Obstacles to Affordable Medicine
KENYA: Claim Disputed that Trade Measures “Aid” Counterfeiters
A major pharmaceutical company in Kenya alleges that special trade measures to make medicines available in poor countries create "loopholes" for counterfeit medicines to enter the market – a claim that health rights advocates refute.HEALTH: Uganda Authority Finding Less Counterfeit Drugs
Uganda’s National Drug Authority (NDA) says the failure rate among samples of medicines tested at their laboratories has fallen by 15 percent from the early 2000s. This serves as a possible indication of a drop in the availability of counterfeit medicines in the East African country.HEALTH: Kenyans’ Right to Affordable Drugs in Hands of Court
Kenya’s Constitutional Court is due to set a date on Jul 22 for a hearing on the application against the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008, of which clauses pertaining to medicines have been suspended pending the court’s decision on whether the law violates the right to health and life.HEALTH: U.S. Intensifies Anti-Counterfeit Drive in East Africa
The U.S.’s recent promotion of intellectual property (IP) rights in Uganda is an indirect way of introducing the Anti-Counterfeits Trade Agreement (ACTA) debate in East Africa.
HEALTH: Intellectual Property Rights Remain A Barrier to Drugs
Intellectual property (IP) rights are a key reason for high medicine prices, rendering such medicines unaffordable and therefore out of reach for poor people. While mechanisms exist to circumvent IP, poor countries have been browbeaten into adopting stringent IP laws.
HEALTH: East African Laws Confuse Fake and Generic Drugs – WHO
The World Health Organisation (WHO) agrees that the anti-counterfeit legislation that has been adopted or that is under consideration in East Africa threatens the accessibility of affordable generic medicines.HEALTH-KENYA: Agency Unaware of Anti-Counterfeit Law Suspension
The agency tasked with implementing the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 in Kenya is unaware of the Constitutional Court’s suspension of the law’s application to medicines. Moreover, a large multinational pharmaceutical company has offered to assist the agency in implementing the law with regards to medicines despite the court decision.
WORLD: “Anti-Counterfeit Deal Threatens Accessibility of Drugs”
A proposed anti-counterfeit trade deal between 10 countries and the European Union (EU) could create "a new set of barriers to the export of generic medicines to low income countries".HEALTH: “I Have Never Opposed Generics” – British Ex-Politician
Baroness Lynda Chalker, a former British government minister, has been at the forefront of the intellectual property rights crusade to pass laws against counterfeits in east Africa. These laws threaten the use of life-saving generics in countries that depend on such medicines for some 90 percent of their healthcare needs.KENYA: Pharmaceutical Companies Pushing Anti-Counterfeit Law
Much of the initiative behind the adoption of Kenya’s controversial anti-counterfeit law came from multinational pharmaceutical companies using their membership of a local manufacturers’ association to push the legislation.
EAST AFRICA: Global Players Behind Anti-Counterfeit Law Campaign
The international push behind Kenya’s controversial Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 dates back as far as October 2006 when the World Customs Organisation held its first intellectual property rights (IPRs) seminar in Kampala, the capital of neighbouring Uganda, focusing on East African governments’ enforcement of these rights.
MALAWI: “Commotion About Anti-Counterfeit Bill Is Unnecessary”
The Malawian government intends to pass a new bill against counterfeit goods by October which will also cover medicines. This step is being taken despite fears that such a law may cause more stock-outs in a country that is already riddled with drug shortages in medical facilities.SOUTH AFRICA: Public Sector Struggling with Shortages of 80 Drugs
South Africa is experiencing a shortage of over 80 different drugs in its public health sector, including flu vaccinations and medication for tuberculosis and high blood pressure. The severity of shortages varies from province to province and hospital to hospital, depending on the leadership and skills levels of management.Q&A: “Concern About Anti-Counterfeit Campaign Is Alarmist”
Civil society criticism that the anti-counterfeit policy drive in East Africa could result in the blocking of legitimate and affordable generic medicines is merely aimed at raising fear among the region’s inhabitants.
Q&A: Anti-Counterfeit Policy Will Provide “Proper” Generics
The anti-counterfeit draft policy and law that the East African Community (EAC) is currently considering will ensure access to "proper" generic medicines and not fakes, EAC secretary general Juma Mwapachu says in defence of a policy which is criticised as blocking affordable and legitimate generic medicines.UGANDA: New Version of Anti-Counterfeiting Bill Still Problematic
The Ugandan government’s controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Bill has been amended after civil society organisations campaigned against provisions in the bill that may restrict access to generic medicines, which form the bulk of medicines used in the East African country.RIGHTS: Zambia Pushes Anti-Counterfeit Bill Despite Health Danger
Zambia is pushing forward with formulating an anti-counterfeit draft law which will include medicines, despite the controversy that has surrounded similar laws in East Africa and despite having existing legislation which has been used to successfully prosecute counterfeiters of medicines.HEALTH: Uganda Bill Shouldn’t Block Generics, Minister Agrees
Uganda’s trade minister is in agreement that his government’s controversial Counterfeit Goods Bill should not restrict the manufacture or import of life-saving generic medicines.
RIGHTS-KENYA: Court Victory Against “Anti-Counterfeit” Agenda
The Constitutional Court in Kenya has barred the government from implementing the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 as it applies to generic medicines until a verdict is delivered in a case filed by three people living with HIV.AFRICA: Anti-Counterfeit Laws Threaten Universal Access to ARVs
East African countries risk not attaining the millennium development goal (MDG) on universal treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases if the region’s parliament adopts the anti-counterfeits policy and bill currently under consideration.
KENYA: State Insists Counterfeit Law Does Not Threaten Rights
Kenya’s Constitutional Court heard on Mar. 18 from counsel representing the government that the Anti-Counterfeit Act of 2008 does not threaten the importation or manufacturing of cheap generic medicines and therefore does not deny Kenyans their constitutional right to life.« Previous Page — Next Page »
