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[florian schneider <fls@kein.org>]

http://www.genericsnow.org/

Tuesday February 21, 2001

Aids : first international summit for generics

The first Summit for access to HIV/Aids drugs, an initiative
of Act Up-Paris and ReMeD, will take place in Ouagadougou
(Burkina Faso) between 3 May and 7 May 2001.

Today, a huge majority of the 36 million people living with
HIV/AIDS cannot access multitherapies because of the current
prices set by the pharmaceutical companies who own the
patents on those drugs (up to almost 10,000 euros per
patient per year). Only a few thousand now benefit from
generic versions, or copies of those treatments. The current
emergency is to make this access available to all in the
southern countries.

This summit on generics is an unprecedented initiative of
committed pro-treatment access People With AIDS groups,
working in more than thirty countries, most of them from
Africa. It will enable participants to study all
perspectives of production and importation of generic drugs,
or good quality copies, in order that action be undertaken
as soon as possible. It is actually essential that legal
clauses included in the WTO agreements could be used by
southern countries for PWAs and to defend public health
stakes.

After four days of strategic brainstorming, local actors
will invite international financial backers and political
representatives to take concrete measures for this
initiative to open a way to an effective availability of
generics in southern countries.

On 26 February 2001, the organisers of the summit will meet
the press in Paris, at the Bourse du Travail at 6, rue du
Château d'eau, together with representatives of associations
supporting the initiative.

The international summit for access to HIV/Aids drugs is
supported by : ANSS (PWA association, Burundi), Comité
Burkinabè pour les Génériques, Consumer Project on
Technology, Health Action International, Health Gap
Coalition, International Coalition of Women with HIV,
Médecins Sans Frontières, Planet Africa, Réseau Africain des
Personnes Séropositives, Réseau Santé Bouaké, Treatment
Action Campain, Women Fighting Aids in Kenya

Press/media contacts : Emmanuel M'BAI KOUE, 
Germinal PINALIE email : media@genericsnow.org


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