Member governments of the World Health Organisation (WHO) ended a week of intensive negotiations on a global strategy and plan of action to improve access to health care in developing countries, in particular, health research and development on diseases disproportionately affecting developing countries. The negotiations at the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights, chaired by Peter Oldham of Canada, were suspended on 10 November evening to resume again at a meeting tentatively set for 28 April to 3 May 2008. At the six-day talks, the negotiators are reported to have made some progress in a few areas, but with considerable and difficult negotiations ahead to agree and draw up "a global strategy and plan of action".
Health equity in economic and trade policies
African countries have called for greater voice in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including not only an increase in formal voting power and representation at its decision-making bodies but also in the diversity of its staff members, to better represent their interests at the institution. In statements during the IMF’s Annual Meetings, African finance ministers and central bank governors have reiterated their calls for at least a tripling of basic votes as an outcome of the current quota and voice reform process to protect the voting shares of low-income countries. They also called for a meaningful and expeditious increase in their representation at the Executive Board, including an amendment to the Fund’s Articles of Agreement to enable Executive Directors representing large constituencies to appoint more than one Alternate Executive Directors.
The representatives of governments within the region, regional trade related organisations, ESA and SADC, parliamentarians, academia, the business sector, SMEs, labour met in Harare on 3-4 October 2007 to assess the readiness of ESA and SADC EPA configurations to sign an EPA; to take stock of the outstanding issues in the negotiations to date and; and to discuss measures to put in place in the event that the EPA is not signed by December 2007. On the basis of close analysis of the sate of EPA negotiations so far, new proposals and the issues arising, the hurdles met thus far, the challenges that lay ahead and the incisive presentations during the two days, further discussions were held.
Rodrigo Rato bowed out as managing director of the International Monetary Fund with effusive plaudits from world financial leaders in public but sharp criticism of his role and the Fund's relevance from the same people when talking outside official news conferences. The emerging consensus among rich and poor countries alike was that the reform process of the IMF had moved backward. Worse, they added that acrimony over the Fund's role in assessing the economic policies of its members, their effects on other countries threatened to create just the disorder in the global economy it is intended to prevent.
This letter to the editor in the Financial Times expresses concern over Economic Partnership Agreements being negotiated between the EU and its African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) trading partners. The group of writers claim that the Commission is incorrect to claim that it has no legal choice but to raise tariffs in January 2008, and further recommend that instead of making threats, the Commission should focus on creating accords with the ACP that would genuinely support development.
The European Parliament on 24 October endorsed an amendment to WTO intellectual property rules aimed at easing poor countries' access to essential medicines, after the EU's 27 member governments promised to help developing nations manufacture and import affordable drugs. Legislators from across the political spectrum had thrice postponed voting on the amendment, pending additional pledges of monetary and political support for developing country public health programmes from EU member states and the European Commission.
The struggle to make medicines affordable to the world’s poor, especially in Africa, is raging on at the highest levels. In the last week of October the European Commission took a landmark decision on generic drugs and next week a high-level intergovernmental meeting will look at ways to prevent patents from blocking access to drugs. In an agreement announced on October 23, European Union (EU) governments were told that they are free to make available generic versions of patented drugs for export to poor countries which lack their own manufacturing facilities.
Kenyan authorities are probing who in government may have been “compromised” by the pharmaceutical industry to try strip the African country of its right to produce medicines without patent-holder approval. There have been repeated efforts to delete parts of Section 80 of the Industrial Property Act, which was enacted in 2001. It enabled the government to issue compulsory licenses to local manufacturers to produce generic versions of pharmaceuticals, such as antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS patients, without seeking approval from the drug company that holds the patent rights.
A landmark case has entered the Kenyan corridors of justice as a group of farmers and a human rights watchdog move to challenge the State over ongoing negotiations for a new trade agreement with Europe. Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), a non-governmental organisation, and small-scale growers contend that though the process of the negotiations for a new Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between Kenya and its key trade partner is of national concern, the State has failed to exhaustively involve all those who stand to be adversely affected by the pact.
The author begins by presenting a brief background on the SADC Regional Economic Integration Agenda and the pertinent decisions made by the Heads of State and Government in this regard, and reminds us of the purpose of the workdhop in preparing for the launching of the FTA in 2008. The author insists the need to create awareness in this process cannot be over emphasised, and elaborates that the process of creating awareness on the SADC Free Trade Area (FTA) would require a meaningful and effective involvement by all the stakeholders.