Lanterna Rally

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2005-12

Total Pages: 20

ISBN-13: 0215026462

In July 2005, at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, G8 leaders made a commitment to: "as close as possible to universal access to [HIV/AIDS] treatment for all those who need it by 2010." The UK has a special responsibility (as the second largest donor on HIV/AIDS) to maintain global commitment to this goal. DFID should establish a transparent monitoring system which will allow year-on-year external evaluation of how many people are being treated, and whether they are getting access to quality treatment. There are gaps in existing provision of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for nomadic groups, intravenous drug users, men who have sex with men, and children. Greater policy coherence between UK government departments is desirable. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) should be urged to review the effect on public health of the 1995 agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which requires countries to grant patent protection to pharmaceutical products for a minimum period of 20 years.Fiscal constraints imposed by IMF, tend to discourage government spending on public health in low- and middle-income countries.