Naomi Klein (Guardian Unltd): Industry giants seize Bush's Aids 'gift'

[Jack Rabbit]

From the Guardian Unlimited (UK)
Dated Monday October 13

Bush's Aids 'gift' has been seized by industry giants
Now the US may block the provision of cheap generic drugs for Africa
By Naomi Klein

Fighting Aids was supposed to show George Bush's softer side. "Seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many," he said in his State of the Union address in January.
He has since reconsidered, deciding instead to offer a few more opportunities to the few. First he handed the top job of his global Aids initiative to a Big Pharma boss, then he broke his $3bn promise of Aids relief. And now there are concerns that he may sabotage a plan to send cheap drugs to countries ravaged by Aids.
In August, the World Trade Organisation announced a new deal on drug patents that was supposed to give poor countries facing health problems the right to import generic drugs. But the deal seemed unworkable: the United States, at the behest of the pharmaceutical lobby, had successfully pushed for so many conditions that the agreement exploded from a straightforward 52 words to a sprawling 3,200-word maze.
Countries wanting to import cheap generics must jump through multiple hoops to prove they are truly in need, unable to afford patented drugs and incapable of producing the medicines domestically. Meanwhile, there is no guarantee that there will be a sufficient supply of drugs for them to buy, since the deal also puts up hurdles for countries wanting to export. "A 'gift' tightly bound in red tape," declared a coalition of NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières and Third World Network.

Read more.

[DUreader]

1. This is Breaking News to me

[Jack Rabbit]

2. It was on the columnists' page of the Guardian's website

As a matter of course, I post such things in EA.

However, I'm glad to know you've learned something about Bush's trade policies you didn't know before. You might also want to look at the piece by Larry Elliott just posted.