BANGKOK, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called on Monday for a change in global trade rules to allow producers of cheap generic drugs to export to countries with HIV/AIDS epidemics.

A World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting last month allowed countries to produce cheap generic drugs to combat a "national emergency".

But the world's least developed countries, without the money or technical capacity to produce their own generic drugs, complain that WTO rules still prevent them from importing the drugs.

Alvaro Bermejo, head of the International Federation's health department, said countries such as India, Thailand, Brazil and South Africa should be allowed to supply poor countries with cheap drugs.

"This is one solution and one of the most realistic solutions," he told Reuters before the start of a conference on home care for HIV/AIDS patients.

"This has to be true for HIV and AIDS (drugs), but countries are also facing problems in multi-resistant tuberculosis and malaria," he said.

DRUG FIRMS CAN AFFORD IT

A WTO committee working on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) is due to propose ways of helping poor countries obtain generic drugs by the end of next year.

Drug firms say last month's WTO ruling leaves them with no profit incentive to carry out vital research into new drugs. Trade in generic drugs would further marginalise them, they say.

But Bermejo said pharmaceutical giants had little to lose. The firms were making little money in developing countries because their products were too expensive, he said.

"Sales of these drugs to developing countries represent a minute percentage of their total sales," he said.

"Making drugs more affordable will not make much difference to companies with record earnings and healthy balance sheets."

Bermejo said government schemes to provide generic drugs cheaply or completely free made economic sense.

"Providing treatment free is cost effective, in terms of hospital beds and absenteeism - keeping breadwinners in the family," he said.

Thailand said this month it would include anti-retroviral drugs, used to strengthen the immune system of HIV/AIDS patients, in a wider health scheme charging just 30 baht ($0.68) per hospital visit from next year.

($1 = 43.82 baht).