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Over 100 Vietnamese health advocacy groups release declaration on the TPPA, access to medicines Dear friends and colleagues, Please find below a declaration by more than 100 Vietnamese health advocacy groups and groups representing people living with HIV/AIDS on the subject of the nine-country Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). As the 11th round of TPP negotiations kicked off last week in Melbourne, Australia, the groups lend their voices to the growing opposition within the Asia-Pacific and beyond to leaked proposals that they say prove the risks posed by the regional FTA to access to medicines in the region. “We, the undersigned, declare our opposition to the Trans-Pacific FTA as it puts the profits of multinational pharmaceutical companies ahead of the people’s right to health,” warned the groups in the declaration. The full text can also be found at: http://www.citizen.org/trans-pacific-FTA#!prettyPhoto[iframe]/0/ With best wishes, Third
World Network VNP+ DECLARATION ON THE TRANS-PACIFIC FREE TRADE AGREEMENT & ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN VIETNAM 29 February 2012 Vietnam is negotiating a Trans-Pacific free trade agreement (TPFTA) with the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia. We, the undersigned, declare our opposition to the Trans-Pacific FTA as it puts the profits of multinational pharmaceutical companies ahead of the people’s right to health. We are aware that the United States has tabled intellectual property proposals that would require significant changes to Vietnamese law. If adopted, the U.S. intellectual property proposals to the TPFTA would restrict generic competition, making medicines less affordable. Medicines for HIV, Hepatitis C and lifesaving medicines for cancer and other chronic diseases are under threat. Many people in Vietnam already lack access to lifesaving medicines and new trade barriers could make this worse. Delaying and restricting access to generic medicines in Vietnam could also make donor funds less effective. In 2008, 94% of funding for care and treatment of HIV came from bilateral programs like the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). PEPFAR relies on generic medicines to provide treatment to as many people as possible, with generics accounting for over 98% of the ARVs purchased through the program. The high cost of some patented products already limits the ability of PEPFAR and other donor programs to expand treatment access. Heightened patent protections could make this problem worse as well. We stand in opposition to any and all proposals that negatively affect access to medicines in the Trans-Pacific FTA including: * EXPANSIVE PATENT PROTECTION for new forms, uses and methods of using known substances. These aggressive low patenting standards can extend pharmaceutical monopolies for minor variations on old products, including those that contribute nothing to efficacy. * PATENT TERM EXTENSIONS that stretch the duration of a patent beyond 20 years. * PATENT LINKAGE that prevents registration of generic medicines and facilitates abuse. * ELIMINATING SAFEGUARDS against patent abuse, such as pre-grant opposition. * BIASED PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS that presume challenged patents valid and measure damages by the patent holder’s assessment of value. * DATA EXCLUSIVITY that prevents health authorities from relying on clinical trial data to register generic versions of medicines. * BORDER MEASURES that could lead to unjustified seizures of generic medicines. * INVESTMENT RULES that could allow multinational companies to sue governments over application of domestic health regulations in private international arbitration and that may prevent governments from promoting local manufacturing. We call on: • The GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES to immediately withdraw any and all TRIPS-plus provisions in the intellectual property chapter of the TPFTA, and to immediately cease all other forms of pressure and lobbying against Vietnam and Vietnamese officials. • GOVERNMENTS OF OTHER TRANS-PACIFIC FTA NEGOTIATING COUNTRIES to come together and refuse to accept any further restrictions on production, registration, supply, import or export of generic medicines; to launch Asian-Pacific collaboration on an urgent basis to put in place a sustainable, affordable pipeline of generic medicines for future generations; and to call for an immediate review of TRIPS and its impact on access to medicines in developing and least-developed countries. • The VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT to immediately end secrecy around the TPFTA negotiations, make negotiation texts available for public scrutiny and to support through open, transparent and public consultations, assessments of the impact of such negotiations on the right to health and other rights. • The VIETNAMESE PARLIAMENT & CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES to immediately request the TPFTA negotiating texts, review their impact on the right to health and access to medicines, refuse to endorse or ratify any Agreement that includes provisions that undermine the people’s right to access affordable treatment, and review Vietnamese patent laws and medicine regulatory rules to ensure all aspects and elements of the Doha Declaration are incorporated in them. • CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS, PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV, ALL COMMUNITIES FACING COMMUNICABLE, CHRONIC AND/OR NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES in the TPFTA negotiating countries to join forces to halt any and all trade agreements that restrict access to generic medicines. We stand in solidarity with all other peoples whose rights to life, health, livelihood, equality, equity, food, environment, knowledge and traditional systems of life and livelihood will also be negatively affected by these free trade agreements that threaten to widen the gap between the rich and the poor not only between countries but within countries as well. For further information, please contact: Do Dang Dong e-mail: dongdodang@gmail.com Vietnam Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (VNP+) SIGNATORIES: (Group/ Network/ Organization/ Individual) 1. Hy Vong Network (on behalf of 60 PLHIV groups) 2. Hy Vong Bac Kan Network (on behalf of 5 PLHIV group) 3. Nang Mai Network (on behalf of 7 PLHIV group) 4. Lecturers group from Faculty of Social work - Hanoi National University of Education 5. Hai Duong Network (on behalf of 5 groups) 6. Sun flower Network (on behalf of 12 groups) 7. Hanoi Network 8. Tieng Vong Group 9. Ban – Toi va Chung Ta Group 10. VNMTS Dong Trieu Group 11. Hoa Phuong Do Kien An Group 12. Hoa Phuong Do Kien Thuy Group 13. Hoa Phuong Do An Duong Group 14. Hoa Phuong Do Hai Phong Group 15. Hoa Phuong Do Cแt Bเ Group 16. Dong Hanh Group 17. Song Tich Cuc group 18. Dien Dan NCH Tre Tuoi 19. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Bac Ninh Group 20. Hanoi Center for Health of Woman 21. Ha Long Sun Flower Group 22. Tinh Ban 4 group 23. Tinh Ban 3 group 24. Tinh Ban 1 group 25. Chuong Ban mai – Thai Binh group 26. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Ha Tinh group 27. Tinh ban - Bien Hoa group 28. Vi ngay mai tuoi sang Thai Nguyen 1 group 29. Hoa Huong Duong – Dien Bien group 30. Nhom Xuan Hop group 31. Amaron Can Tho group 32. Tinh Ban 5 group 33. Nang Moi – Long An group 34. Hy Vong – Long An group 35. Ban va Toi – Dong Nai group 36. NCH Quang Xuong group 37. CLB Than Thien – Thanh Hoa group 38. Mot Ngay Moi – Thanh Hoa group 39. Hoa Co May – Thai Binh group 40. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Thai Binh group 41. Nang Mai 3 group 42. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Phu Tho group 43. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Ha Nam group 44. Hoa Phuong Do Ninh Binh group 45. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Bac Ninh 1 group 46. Sac Mau Nhan Ai group 47. Hoa Dong Noi group 48. Hai Duong Xanh- Hai Duong group 49. Suc Song Moi – Hai Duong group 50. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Hai Ninh group 51. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Chi Linh group 52. Song Lam Xanh group 53. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Quy Hop group 54. Cat Trang group 55. Ngay Moi Nghe An group 56. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Thai nguyen 2 group 57. Uoc Mo Xanh Hoang Mai group 58. Hai Dang group 59. Hoa Hai Duong group 60. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Kim son group 61. Khat Vong Tinh Thuong group 62. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Ninh Binh group 63. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Dong Trieu group 64. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Van Don group 65. Hoa Phuong Do Kien Thuy group 66. Ban Giup Ban Kien Giang group 67. Niem Tin Can tho group 68. Suc Moi group 69. Niem Tin Bac Ninh group 70. Ban Giup Ban Phu Luong – Thai Nguyen group 71. Ban Giup Ban Pho Yen – Thai Nguyen group 72. Noi Vong Tay Lon – Thai Nguyen group 73. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Nghe An group 74. Vong Tay Nhan An – Thai Nguyen group 75. Truyen thong phong chong HIV/AIDS Hue group 76. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Tre Xanh – Bac Ninh group 77. Niem Tin Cai Lay – Tien Giang group 78. Nang Mai 1 group 79. Niem Tin – Da Nang group 80. Cham Soc Tai Nha – Da Nang group 81. CLB Yeu Thuong – Quang Tri group 82. Nang Mai 4 - Dong Nai group 83. Cham Soc Tai Nha – TP HCM group 84. Nang Mai 2 group 85. Suc Moi – Ha noi group 86. Hy Vong – Da nang group 87. Tinh Ban- Soc trang group 88. Dong Que- Hai duong group 89. Ha Giang group 90. Mat Troi Cua be Group 91. Nu Cuoi Group 92. Phu nu co HIV Tinh Bien Group 93. Dong Cam Tan Chau Group 94. Hoan Sinh Phu Tan Group 95. Muon Sac Mau Tan Chau Group 96. Hy Vong cho Moi Group 97. Hy Vong Thoai Son Group 98. Tinh Thuong An Phu Group 99. Vong Tay Am Tri Ton Group 100. Bong Dien Dien Chau Phu Group 101. Co Phan Vu Diem Hang 102.Pham Thi Tuyet Mai - Save The Children 103. Vi Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang Hy Vong Bac Ninh
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