Dear Sir/Madam
Sub: DOHA DECLARATION ON TRIPS AND PUBLIC HEALTH
- Proposal being put forward at the TRIPs Council by
US and EU delegations.
- limited solutions and our objections thereto.
This has reference to the above subject. We as a citizens'
group and a consumer protection organisation in India hereby
express our objections to the above and state as follows:
- There should be no compromise on the scope of diseases.
Paragraph 4 of the Doha Declaration says: "the TRIPS agreement
can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner
supportive of WTO Members' right to protect public health and, in
particular, to promote access to medicines for all". It is
ridiculous to limit the definition of public health problems to a
handful of disease.
- The solution should not exclude vaccines or important
medical devices.
- The solution should not be limited in terms of countries
that can import or export products for addressing public health
problems. This is because the use of compulsory licensing has
been limited.
- The solution should not be protectionist and should allow
every country to have the same opportunities to address abuses of
patent rights, regardless of how large or small its domestic
market.
Thanking you
Yours faithfully
Bhalchandra Modi
Hon. Director (Advocacy)
CERC, Ahmedabad, India.