AEGiS-IRIN: WTO Rules Block Cheaper HIV/Aids Imports UN Integrated Regional Information NetworkImportant note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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WTO Rules Block Cheaper HIV/Aids Imports

UN Integrated Regional Information Network - October 12, 2001

The National Aids Control Council of Kenya has said the government is having difficulty buying cheap HIV/AIDS drugs despite the government passing legislation in June to allow low-cost importation in June, the 'Daily Nation' reported on Wednesday. Deputy Director of NACC, Dr Patrick Oregi, was quoted as saying that some rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were hindering the importation of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) used to treat the disease.

A clause in WTO agreements which stipulated that the drugs could be manufactured locally or given to Kenya as donations but not exported for sale was hindering Kenyan government efforts to source cheaper drugs abroad, according to Oregi. "At the moment, the drugs can only be shipped from countries such as India and Brazil as donations," he said. "It amounts to discrimination, stigmatisation and violation of human rights and dignity to deny people infected with HIV/AIDS medical cover due to their status," he added.

The Kenyan parliament took the first step towards improving public accessibility to anti-HIV/AIDS drugs in June, when it passed the Industrial Property Bill, making Kenya the second African country, after South Africa, to adopt such legislation. [for details, go to: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/archive/kenya.phtml]


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