Sydney Summit a step back for access to medicines, but it is not the end of the story

If the proposal by trade ministers at the WTO meeting in Sydney is accepted by the wider WTO membership, an insurmountable barrier to getting cheaper medicines will be replaced by numerous lower ones.

A joint press release by Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières. Press Release - 15 Nov 2002

HIV/AIDS

Equitable access: Scaling up HIV/AIDS treatment in developing countries

Report - 15 Nov 2002

Access to medicines

Expect progress to be tough at WTO summit on drugs

Both the EU and the U.S., the world's two major drug producers, have offered drug-patent proposals that are far more restrictive than those favored by developing countries and many nongovernmental organizations. Developing countries want access to a wider range of drugs, while a large coalition of NGOs is pushing to allow any poorer country to contract for delivery of patented medicines from whomever it chooses.

This article first appeared in the THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Project Update - 14 Nov 2002

United States of America

Drugs for the poor

The Bush administration is resisting the lobbyists' extremism, but it still listens to the industry more than it should. The US president's trade representative, Robert Zoellick, needs to soften the US positions at today's WTO meeting. From a policy point of view, there is no good argument for allowing patents to restrict access to medicine in poor countries and those just climbing out of poverty. Project Update - 14 Nov 2002

Access to medicines

US trade position threatens access to medicines in Latin America and the Caribbean

Trade objectives proposed by the United States are threatening access to affordable lifesaving medicines for people with HIV/AIDS and other diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Press Release - 31 Oct 2002

Central African Republic

MSF assists civilians fleeing the fighting following a coup d'état attempt

The international humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has started an emergency intervention in the Central African Republic (CAR) to assist civilians fleeing the fighting in the capital, Bangui, following last Friday's Coup d'état attempt. Press Release - 30 Oct 2002

Refugees, IDPs and people on the move

Border Stories: Imagine leaving your home and never coming back

MSF is presenting 'Border Stories', an exhibition of objects belonging to ten of the world's refugees. Project Update - 17 Oct 2002

Mental health

Mental health care crucial in emergency situations

A recent article published on September 6, 2002 in the National Post (Canada) questioned the usefulness of trauma counseling. For Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), psychosocial programmes are not only an essential response to human suffering but are part of an integrated approach for medical care. Project Update - 14 Oct 2002

Côte d'Ivoire

MSF reinforces its team and sends 10 tonnes of medical and logistical material to Côte d'Ivoire

In view of the recent fighting in Ivory Coast, the international medical aid agency MSF has decided to reinforce its team in the country, in order to be better prepared to intervene in the areas where rebel forces are fighting with the government army. Press Release - 30 Sep 2002

Palestine

Healing the mind

The theory behind, and limits to, MSF's psychiatric approach in the midst of the Palestinian conflict. A critical examination of a long-term project. Report - 3 Sep 2002

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

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We provide medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of health professionals, logistic and administrative staff - most of them hired locally. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence and impartiality. We are a non-profit, self-governed, member-based organisation.

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