Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Conclusion
this chapter has focussed on how the domination of commercial interests is being
challenged by social ones. the trIPS agreement includes provisions that protect
health but these provisions have not had much weight. this reality led health activists
and developing country governments to pressure the wto for meaningful support
for health concerns. their efforts were also facilitated by support in the court of
international public opinion, which was particularly outraged by the lack of access
to antiretroviral treatment (art) in developing countries. as a result, the 2001
declaration was signed. another lengthy process of negotiation followed, ending in
2003 when governments were able to reach consensus on issues such as the use of
compulsory licensing, particularly for those countries that lacked the manufacturing
capacity to make use of it. Since the creation of the wto, international statements
and agreements have emphasised that health is a value that must be protected.
The final word is that in order to offer adequate protection for health and, in
particular, access to medicines, the wto still needs to undergo a seismic shift in its
institutional orientation to ensure that patents do not trump health. there has been blind
faith in the primacy of economics and thus social issues have been submerged or added
on to economic models. there is a need for constructive thinking about governance
so as to renovate institutions by ensuring that health issues are not superseded by
commercial one. But in the final analysis, is renovation good enough? Or is a complete
demolition necessary, or even possible? the likely answer is that the changes now
being made to international governance to ensure that public health imperatives are
upheld and respected are still insufficient. There have been inclusions that potentially
allow governments to make sure that their populations have access to medicines, even
with the imposition of standards such as international patent law. but what ultimately
counts is whether governments are using these provisions well and what is happening
in their healthcare systems. while countries such as thailand, Brazil, and others use
their right to compulsory licensing, political and economic pressures are forcing many
governments to turn a blind eye to their obligation to ensure that they fulfil their
population's right to the highest attainable standard of health.
Notes
to andrea Perez Cosio and vicky Kuek for their comments and edits.
Programme on Essential Drugs should be made available in 'sufficient quantity' (CESCR
2000). the exact application of this clause depends on the conditions in a state.
3
UStr to address foreign unfair trading practices, including unfair practices on intellectual
property rights'.
