AIDS Activists Demand Cheap Generic Drugs

Zackie Achmat of South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign was too ill to attend the 14th International AIDS Conference, but in a video address he accused wealthy countries and drug firms of not doing enough to help people who, like himself, are living with HIV. "What is required is generic competition, therefore we appeal to all the brand-name drug companies to issue non-restrictive voluntary licenses," Achmat said. "Just because we are poor, just because we are black, just because we live in environments and continents that are far from you, does not mean that our lives should be valued any less," Achmat said. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also backed treatment for everyone in the world infected with HIV, coupled with energetic prevention efforts. "We need to treat HIV-infected individuals no matter where they are, be they in the North or in the South," Fauci said.

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