Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and health – more leverage required

Bobby Ramakant - CNS
Currently, a number of developing nations are negotiating many economic agreements with other countries or blocks of countries. Another alarming fact is that there is marked reluctance to divulge details about these negotiations, and harsh measures are taken against public health activists who demand their say.More than eighty per cent of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs purchased by the Global Fund are coming from such nations such as India where threat from such economic agreements looms large. According to Loon Gangte of the Delhi Network of People living with HIV (DNP+) and International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC – South Asia), "The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (The Global Fund) should look into it that more than 80% of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs purchased by it are coming from India and today we are at a very serious juncture with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union. Although there are communities fighting against the FTAs from around the world but there is no serious position from the Global Fund against FTAs." Read more 


Published in:
Citizen News Service(CNS), India/Thailand
Health Dev.net, Thailand 
Aids Space.org
Aids Portal.org