Global Health Coalition Announces Policy Recommendations for Obama

An impressive coalition of 25 US based global health organizations has promulgated their policy recommendations for Obama this week.

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The United States, through a Global Health Initiative, should:
• Double U.S. aid for global health to approximately $16 billion per year in 2011 and challenge other donors to similarly scale up their investments;
• Establish bold U.S. targets for improved health outcomes in each of the six GHI areas and contribute our fair share to reach the healthrelated Millenium Development Goals; and
• Ensure that as we invest in programs to scale up health for all, we build on successful programs and fulfill existing commitments.

The Global Health Initiative
President Obama’s Global Health Initiative (GHI) represents an historic opportunity to achieve bold and ambitious targets in the fight against the most daunting global health challenges of our generation. Alongside related efforts to reform U.S. foreign assistance and to coordinate various initiatives that populate the global health landscape, the GHI is an important signal of the intention of the U.S. government to expand its leadership on global health. At a moment of global economic downturn, we recall the Institute of Medicine’s statement from earlier this year that global health programs “play a crucial role in the broader mission of U.S. foreign policy to reduce poverty, build stronger economies, promote peace, and enhance the U.S. image in the world today.”

The Promise of Patent Pools for Access to Medicines-Cute Educational Animation

Often prices set by pharmaceutical companies are out of reach for developing countries. With a growing need for second-line treatment for millions of people living with HIV, how can access to currently expensive drugs be assured?

  

On 29 October, the UNAIDS Liaison Office to the European Union organized a roundtable to discuss UNITAID’s initiative to create a voluntary Patent Pool for AIDS medicines. The meeting brought together representatives of the European Commission, Médecins Sans Frontières, European AIDS Treatment Group and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry. UNITAID, an international drug purchase facility, has taken the first steps to create a voluntary patent pool for AIDS medicines for developing countries for the public good.

*Intellectual Property Rights *

A patent is a form of ownership, intellectual property, which covers creations of the mind including inventions and pharmaceuticals. It acts as an incentive for companies to invest in research and development, knowing that with a monopoly in the market place, they stand a good chance of recouping their investment and making a profit.

Patents are regulated through the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPS) together with the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public health and other World Trade Organization key decisions.

HIV-related patents remain a controversial topic between AIDS activists and the major pharmaceutical companies; while drug prices have dropped dramatically, newer products – such as second line treatment - are still very expensive.

*Patent Pools – the solution? *

UNITAD argues that a patent pool could be one of the solutions to expand access to more appropriate and lower priced medicines in low- and middle-income countries. A patent pool is when patent rights held by different owners such as universities, pharmaceutical companies or government institutions, are brought together and made available on a non-exclusive basis.