EU trade talks may deal blow to Aids fight
The Daily Nation, Kenya
EU trade talks may deal blow to Aids fight
By Nation correspondent in London
2 December 2010
Fears have been raised that cheap life-saving anti-retroviral drugs may no longer be available in Kenya if a trade agreement between the EU and India is concluded.
International health NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres said that a clause in the current trade talks could mean that companies in India producing generic drugs for export for as little as $70 (Sh5,600) a year may no longer do so.
In a statement released on World Aids Day on December 1, MSF president Dr Unni Karunakara said the intellectual property rights agreement would put “profits before lives.”
The EU has denied the claims saying changes will not affect India’s ability to export affordable drugs and was only a free trade agreement.
More than 80 per cent of ARVs in Africa come from India and cost of treating an HIV patient is down from $500 a year to $70.
