Newsletter December 2006
December 13th, 2006This post was written by Jon Harle. You can read more posts by: Jon Harle or more posts in Newsletter
Campaign Updates
Stop AIDS Societies throughout Universities in the UK held spectacular events to mark World AIDS Day on 1st December. A small delegation from Leeds Stop AIDS Society joined up with local Oxfam and THT campaigners to meet with Hilary Benn on World AIDS Day. They managed to get him to themselves for a full 20 minutes and grilled him on the access to medicines campaign! Balloon races, speaker events, meetings with MPs, battle of the bands, Singing for Sex and MasquerAIDS balls and condom tug of wars were just some of the many events organised by Stop AIDS Societies as part of a week of action to mark World AIDS Day. Read more about what groups have been doing visit
Take Action
If have not already met with your MP, write to them to arrange an appointment for the next couple of weeks or early in the New Year. It’s really important that we sustain the momentum of the campaign to keep the pressure on Government. Hilary Benn has openly encouraged campaigners to lobby the Government to keep their promise on treatment! We’ve prepared some advice on effective advocacy as well as some sample leaflets to leave with your MP. Download these resources herev
Important International News
UNAIDS latest figures were launched on 21st November 2006. Despite the report’s optimistic tone the figures laid bare the stark realities. An estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV. There were 4.3 million new infections in 2006 with 2.8 million (65%) of these occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. There were also significant increases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where there are some indications that infection rates have risen by more than 50% since 2004. In 2006, 2.9 million people died of AIDS-related illnesses. We need to keep campaigning!! www.unaids.org/en/HIV_data/epi2006/default.asp
On the eve of World AIDS Day the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution on AIDS and Access to Medicines. It’s a great step forward, acknowledging amongst other things: the importance of generic competition to lower prices; the importance of upholding the spirit of the Doha Declaration; and that bilateral free trade agreements ‘should not limit how countries can use public-health safeguards’.Read the declaration in full
The Clinton Foundation announced on World AIDS Day that it has negotiated a deal with the generic companies Cipla and Ranbaxy in India to manufacture and disperse a new triple fixed-dose combination (3 in 1) paediatric ARV for less than $60 per patient per year. They’ve committed to ensuring that at least 100,000 children will receive this. This is an amazing price reduction and a really positive test case for the campaign!
Focus
An independent review on Intellectual Property (IP) commissioned by the Treasury was published on 7th December. It contains a whole section on IP in developing countries with recommendations in line with our campaign asks. Although most of this seems like common sense to us, it’s great to hear the government are being given the same message! The review states among other things that: “Conditions in TRIPS can hinder the effectiveness of compulsory licensing.” It also states that the UK government should look favourably on any future proposals to amend TRIPS that may be needed to address the public health crisis faced by some developing countries… We hope that the Treasury takes note. Access the full report.
The Stop AIDS Campaign currently has real momentum! With the establishment of DFID’s new Access to Medicines team, the resolution passed by the European Commission and this most recent Gower Report it seems that policy makers are really starting to take the campaign seriously.
Have a great Christmas guys and we look forward to campaigning with you through 2007. It is going to be a key year for the campaign particularly in the lead up to the G8 summit in Germany! Rest well as you’ll need all your energy in 2007…
