Treatment Action Campaign
http://www.tac.org.za
808 Dumbarton House, Church Street, Cape Town. Tel: 021-423 5026 Fax: 4265046
PO Box 31104, Braamfontein 2017, Johannesburg. Tel: 011-403-0265 Fax: 011-403 2106
CONGRESS OF SOUTH AFRICA TRADE UNIONS (COSATU)
http://www.cosatu.org.za/
"AN INJURY TO ONE IS AN INJURY TO ALL"
PRESS STATEMENT
Sunday 4 March: Night vigil at Church Square, close to Pretoria High Court
Monday 5th March, 9am: Picket and march from Church Square to High Court and US embassy
Tuesday — Friday 9th March: Pickets at Pretoria High Court
In 1997 the South African government passed the Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act. This Act aims to make drugs more affordable and to improve the functioning of the Medicines Control Council. Cosatu and TAC support this law because it introduced a legal framework to make medicines more available and affordable in the public sector. This framework introduces four important elements:
1. Generic substitution of medicines - drugs of the same quality and active ingredient.
2. A pricing committee — which sets up a transparent pricing mechanism and forces drug companies to justify their prices.
3. Parallel importation — which allows the government to import the same medicines sold by the same companies, or its licensee, at a lower price in another country.
4. International tendering for medicines used in the public sector.
In 1998 the PMA and 39 multinational drug companies took legal action against the government to stop this Act. After three years the case will be heard at Pretoria High Court from 5-12 March. During this delay, more than 400 000 people have died of AIDS-related illness. Most of them could not afford expensive drugs. In 2000 alone, drug companies around the world made sales of more that $315 billion - more that the gross domestic product of all SADC countries. So why are these companies taking the government to court?
• They claim the government is trying to "expropriate or confiscate their property" and giving Minister of Health "too much power."
• They fear competition and being exposed as profiteering from medicines;
• They say that mandatory generic substitution is are unfair and discriminatory.
• They argue that the quality of generics will be much lower than their products.
In reality, their main concern is that these measures will have a negative impact on their massive profits.
The Medicines Act deserves the support of all people in South Africa and internationally. It attempts to improve the health care system by lowering the price of essential medicines. This is very crucial for people living with HIV/AIDS as well as people with many other serious illnesses. If the PMA succeeds, it will be an enormous blow for poor people in South Africa and the developing countries. Stand up for your rights!
Siphiwe Mgcina
COSATU Spokesperson
siphiwe@cosatu.org.za
082-821-7456
339-4911