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South Africa —Will it Help? |
By Jack Nichols
Former South African President Nelson Mandela and General Secretary Kofi Annan of the United Nations had both called on the companies to drop their suit. The drug giants had argued to protect medical patents which they considered “intellectual property.” South African law, however, allowed the government to purchase brand-name drugs at the lowest rates available, and drug company opponents maintained that the government's stance complied with international trade agreements. The pharmaceutical companies promised to repay the South African government's legal fees. There were celebrations around the court house in Pretoria. Activists and people with AIDS danced merrily, popping champagne bottles and hugging. South Africa's health minister said: “Obviously this is a victory for all of us. We hope our experience has contributed in some way to the larger debate on access to affordable health care for developing countries and for the poor in wealthier nations.”
Mark Heywood, a legal expert who'd helped pressure the drug giants by organizing street protests, called the health minister's announcement “a stab in the back.” It would be necessary, he noted, to focus on the intransigence of the government in order to save millions of lives. Although Thursday's decision by the drug companies could be considered a victory, he said, “We're measuring success by bringing real medicines to real people.” Heywood and others are now planning new strategies to pressure drug makers to lower their prices in a nation whose population is being decimated to a greater extent than anywhere else on earth. Other African countries, poorer than South Africa, have moved ahead of schedule to provide anti-retrovirals at reduced costs. Pilot programs in Uganda, Senegal and the Ivory Coast are targeting the virus. Botswana, a wealthier nation, aims at distributing anti-AIDS drugs to all of those infected by the end of 2001. In South Africa, training for rural nurses and doctors to monitor AIDS drug ingestion is a necessity. Activists are planning to pressure the government to increase financing and to apply for special permission to import cheap generic AIDS drugs. Whether the African National Congress will respond in a time of great need, remains to be seen. |