MPH: Act now to get affordable, life-saving drugs to developing countries
Published by Patrick May 15th, 2007 in Make Poverty History Tags: Make Poverty History.People living with HIV/AIDS and other life threatening conditions cannot wait any longer for affordable, generic versions of life-saving drugs. It is time to fix Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime.
Three years ago, Canada was a clear leader on the international stage when it passed a law intended to make essential, generic medicines available, in low- and middle-income countries where there is no generic manufacturing industry.
Unfortunately, the law does not work. Since the legislation passed 2004, not a single pill has left Canada. The drug order process is taking far too much time and effort to be effective.
More importantly, since the day Canada passed the legislation close to 6-million people have died of AIDS-related causes. More than 8.6-million women, men and children have become infected with HIV/AIDS.
The law is now under review, and the government must report to Parliament later this month. The fight against AIDS and the struggle against poverty are intimately linked. Without doing our part to fight AIDS, we will never Make Poverty History.
Send a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and let him know that you want him to act now to fix Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime.