Friday, December 01, 2006

Today is World AIDS Day

Five years ago, the Doha Declaration pledged to put health before profits. It allows developing countries to access generic versions of patented drugs - which are significantly cheaper - under World Trade Organisation rules, known as TRIPS.

But Oxfam says conditions in developing countries have become significantly worse since 2001.

And according to the World Health Organisation, 74 per cent of AIDS medicine is still under a monopoly, 77 per cent of Africans have no access to AIDS treatment and 30 per cent of the world has no access to essential medicines.

Oxfam's head of its Make Trade Fair campaign, Celine Charveriat, accused rich countries of "breaking the spirit" of the declaration.

She said: "That hasn't happened. We've gone backwards. People are still suffering or dying needlessly."


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