We urge the South African government, and all other governments, to place respect for human life and the right to healthcare services ahead of the WIPO agenda that prioritises the enforcement of IP held by multinational companies.
Eighteen years after the Durban conference, government efforts to increase medicine access – beyond HIV treatments – have been excruciatingly slow. Though ARVs are now widely available, many more shocking cases of injustice in access to essential medicines remain.
On the 26th of July at the International AIDS conference, hosted in the Netherlands, SECTION27 and the Treatment action campaign (TAC) launched a new publication documenting the history of the access to medicines movement in South Africa.
Intellectual property policy welcomed after nine years of development JOHANNESBURG, 31 MAY 2018 – Yesterday, after nine years of development, the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) finally published the Intellectual Property Policy of the Republic of South Africa, Phase I. The policy has been adopted by cabinet and Continue Reading
Over the past 15 years, HIV activists in South Africa have won significant victories to secure affordable access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through challenging patent monopolies. The cost of a first line ARV regimen in the country has dropped by 96% since 2000. With access to affordable generic products, South Continue Reading
– We urge all governments to urgently adopt and act on UN recommendations to safeguard right to health. – South Africa must show the way by leading developing countries, especially the BRICS, the SADC and the AU, in adopting and building on the recommendations JOHANNESBURG, 14th SEPTEMBER 2016: The Treatment Continue Reading
Cabinet recently approved a new Intellectual Property (IP) Consultative Framework for South Africa. This follows a Draft National IP Policy published for comment in 2013 – on which we and many other groups commented.[1] The 2013 Draft National IP Policy committed to reforming South Africa’s patent law to address shortcomings Continue Reading
A civil society declaration on the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines March 17 2016 The UN system – and governments and people around the world – are poised on the threshold of a historic opportunity to redress the policy incoherence and imbalance that exists with respect to Continue Reading
DON’T TRADE AWAY OUR HEALTH – PHARMA ATTEMPTS TO UNDERMINE SOUTH AFRICAN PATENT LAW REFORM & ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE MEDICINES Johannesburg/New York, August 13, 2015: A submission to the United States Government shows South Africa is facing pressure from the pharmaceutical industry to backtrack on intellectual property (IP) law reform that Continue Reading
JOHANNESBURG, Tuesday 20th January: The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and SECTION27 applaud India’s decision to reject a patent application on sofosbuvir, an important new treatment for Hepatitis C. Last Wednesday’s decision paves the way for increased access to more affordable sofosbuvir in India and other countries Continue Reading
SECTION27 condemns the action taken by pharmaceutical companies to undermine the Draft Intellectual Property Policy process that is currently underway in South Africa. SECTION27, together with its partners has been calling for reforms to the IP regime in line with the constitutional right to health care services for many years. The DTI’s Continue Reading
Health activists hand-over comments on Draft Policy to Dept. of Trade & Industry, supporting patent law reform 2013-10-17 PRETORIA – Marching in support of government-proposed patent law reforms, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), and SECTION27 today handed their submission commenting on the Draft National Policy on Intellectual Property, Continue Reading