Advocacy, education and political influencing to use TRIPS safeguards to increase access to ARVs
Advocacy, education and political influencing to use TRIPS safeguards to increase access to ARVs
Project
Accion para la Salud promotes awareness on the obstacles that intellectual property rights represent for access to medicines in Peru. The project will run in liaison with organizations of PLHIV and other CSOs. The main focus for this project is a specific case against the Peruvian Government to grant a Compulsory License for atazanavir. In Perú, atazanavir costs 20 times the price paid for the generic version in neighboring countries like Bolivia. This means that the Peruvian government pays an additional amount of more than 9 million dollars per year until 2018, when the patent expires. Atazanavir represents more than 50% of the spending of the Peruvian Government on ARVs. Accion para la Salud will organize education programs for key players, develop IEC materials, involve mass media and initiate litigations.
Project details
Objectives
Main outcomes:
# Awareness of key players on the legitimacy to use safeguards such as a compulsory license (CL) to reduce the price of atazanavir
# Governmental organizations are well informed on all issues related to a CL for atazanavir
# Peruvian Government must respond in court to the demand of CSOs for a CL for atazanavir
# Consolidation of a Coalition for Access to Medicines with important CSOs from different parts of Peru
# Mass media is involved in the process to get a CL for atazanavir
Background
In Peru, 30.000 PLHIV are on treatment, 1400 on Atazanavir.
The political climate in Peru is focused on economic growth. Any measures that could affect profits of companies will scare off investors, and are therefore against the development of Peru.
Most congress people want to stay ignorant on TRIPS flexibilities because they are businessmen and have conflicting commercial interests. In 2016 general elections will be held.