who medicines strategy - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

WHO MEDICINES STRATEGY 2004-2007 | 32EO 1.3Public health aspects protectedin the negotiation andimplementation of international,regional, and bilateral tradeagreements through inter-countrycollaboration and legislative stepsto safeguard access to essentialmedicinesRationaleWHO supports the use of measures to protectpublic health and promote access to medicines,consistent with the provisions of the TRIPSAgreement and the Doha Declaration on theTRIPS Agreement and Public Health. The DohaDeclaration (paragraph 4) affirmed that the TRIPSAgreement “can and should be interpreted andimplemented in a manner supportive of WTOMembers’ right to protect public health, and inparticular, to promote access to medicines for all”.The Doha Declaration was agreed after intensedebate about the implications of intellectualproperty rights on public health and access tomedicines.Mindful of such concerns about the currentpatent system, especially as regards access tomedicines in developing countries, the 56 th WorldHealth Assembly (WHA) urged Member Statesto consider adapting national legislation in orderto use to the full the flexibilities contained in theTRIPS Agreement. The WHA further noted that inorder to tackle new public health problems withinternational impact — such as the emergenceof severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)— access to new medicines with potentiallytherapeutic effect, and to health innovationsand discoveries should be universally availablewithout discrimination.ProgressThe Network for Monitoring the Impact ofGlobalization and TRIPS on Access to Medicinesis coordinated by four WHO CollaboratingCentres, with additional input from appropriateexperts. The Network has developed indicatorsand an assessment tool published in 2004 on thebasis of field tests. To date, assessments have beencompleted in 11 countries in East Asia, EasternEurope, and Latin America 7 8 .WHO PERSPECTIVES ON ACCESS TO MEDICINES 6Access to quality essential medicines is a human rightAffordability of essential medicines is a public health priorityEssential medicines are not simply another commodity; TRIPS safeguards are crucialPatent protection has been an effective incentive for research and development of new medicinesPatents should be managed in an impartial way, protecting the interests of the patent holder, as well assafeguarding public health principlesCountries should assess the public health impacts of the TRIPS Agreement before introducing requirementsmore stringent than the TRIPS requirements (“TRIPS-plus”) in national legislation or as a part of regional orbilateral trade agreements or extending TRIPS requirements to non-WTO members