Newspaper Article

Senators: Do the right thing

Brown, Sherri A

2011

Overview

Canadians have, historically, generously reached out to support humanitarian disasters, including the most recent ones in Japan and Haiti. The situation around access to essential medicines is also a humanitarian disaster. Approximately three in 10 people worldwide lack basic access to essential medicines; the majority of whom are in Africa and Asia. The World Health Organization estimates that between 1.3 and 2.1 billion people lack access to essential medicines. Many of these people will die simply because of where they live. It is a silent, pervasive, and unconscionable humanitarian disaster, and mostly because it simply does not have to be this way. The tsunami that engulfs developing countries is highly \"unnatural\": poverty, patents, and apathy underlie this disaster. For that, you'd have to ask Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government, the majority of who turned up to vote on March 9, registered a \"nay\" vote for Bill C-393. Even two federal Liberal Party MPs voted against Bill C-393; a shocking development considering that the legislation was originally developed by the Liberal Party and that one of the MPs, Dr. Keith Martin, is a physician who previously worked in Africa. Dr. Martin explained that most essential medicines were \"off-patent\" anyway, which made the legislation unnecessary. These obstacles to the supply of essential medicines are not easily overcome, but CAMR offers an important vehicle to deliver more medicines to people living in developing countries by increasing the supply of affordable essential medicines. The Canadian generics producer Apotex has, for example, indicated that it will make a pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment available to developing countries if Bill C-393 passes.

• Publisher: Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited