Stephen Lewis Calls WTO Agreement on AIDS Drugs "Entirely Flawed"

August 22, 2006

By R. Masters

Recently, Stephen Lewis called the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement which was intended to allow for the manufacture of generic HIV/AIDS drugs “entirely flawed”. Mr. Lewis, who is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, said that the fact that no generic drugs to treat HIV/AIDS have been produced in Canada so far shows that the WTO “agreement that was struck internationally doesn’t work”.

Stephen Lewis The WTO agreement that Lewis referred to was decided upon by the WTO’s general council on August 30th 2003. This decision allowed for the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to be waived with respect to HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals. This provision allows for countries with the manufacturing capacity to issue a compulsory licence to companies so that they may manufacture a generic version of the needed drugs and make them available to those countries which are in need.

“For a western country like Canada to take advantage of the loophole that was created … at the World Trade Organization to provide for these drugs would be a tremendous contribution to the battle against AIDS. And we could do it at a cost which [could] compete with Indian generic drugs… So, why we won’t do it, is profoundly puzzling…. Canada amongst other nations should make an effort to go to Doha again because it isn’t working. But it could work in Canada, if we cared. We apparently don’t care enough,” said Lewis.

In Canada, the government reacted to the WTO agreement by passing bill C9, also known as the Jean Chrétien Pledge to Africa. This bill, which came into force on May 14th, 2005, was an amendment to both the Patent Act and the Food and Drugs Act which was supposed to allow for the creation of cheaper generic versions of brand name drugs.

“With the coming into force of the Jean Chrétien Pledge to Africa, the Government of Canada has established a legal framework allowing lower-cost versions of patented pharmaceutical products to be exported to less fortunate countries unable to manufacture their own such products,” said David Emerson, who was Minister of Industry at the time

However, despite the early optimism, nothing has been produced or exported out of Canada to date.

“Personally and with appropriate embarrassment, I feel almost personally duped. I actually believed with a kind of charming innocence, that the Governments of Canada, Liberal and Conservative, would really take this act seriously and I made a significant error in judgement,” said Lewis.

“All it takes, and it could be done this week, is for the Government of Canada to issue a compulsory license for the manufacture and export of generic drugs,” said Lewis.

“I can only believe that the brand name companies have put such pressure on the Government of Canada that it’s unable to do that. And the African government are desperately in need of these medicines,” said Lewis.

Stephen Lewis attributes this failure to the lack of political leadership, which he deems as being necessary for any real progress.

“I find today, that it’s quite fascinating to see the way which celebrity leadership has emerged to compensate for the absence of political leadership … but nothing can compensate for the governmental involvement, nothing, particularly from the G8 countries. So the celebrity leadership is admirable but the political leadership is totally wanting,” said Lewis.

So during the XVI International AIDS Conference, Lewis along with Global Treatment Access Group (GTAG) and Make Poverty History were aiming to put pressure on the Canadian government to implement a four point plan which is calling on Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper “to take decisive action in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”

The plan wants the Canadian government to commit to a timetable to bring its official development assistance to 0.7% of gross national income, invest in the public health care systems of developing countries, cancel the debts of developing countries to free up resources to fights AIDS and poverty, and follow through on commitments to make medicines affordable to developing countries.

“Canada, among the nations which has endorsed the 0.7, is the only country that has endorsed the 0.7 that refuses to set a timetable. That is not only delinquent; but it is as people have said, hypocritical,” said Lewis.

In the end, Lewis said that he still had “optimism about turning [the pandemic] around”.

To do this however, Lewis said that it is necessary to deal with the reality of women.

“There is absolutely no question in my mind that we can break the back of the pandemic… and the crucial center piece of all of this is the question of women. Women are disproportionately vulnerable. So if you deal with the reality of women …, then you could absolutely in all the various issues turn the pandemic around,” said Lewis.