Africans With HIV/AIDS
Forgotten in Trade Bill

Contact:media@aidsaction.org

or call: 202-530-8030

Washington, DC -- AIDS Action today called on President Clinton to issue an executive order that would allow millions of Africans with HIV and AIDS access to life-saving drugs. The executive order was requested by Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) after a similar plan authored by her and Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) was stripped from the Africa-Caribbean Basin Initiative trade bill.

"Less than one week after the United States government declared AIDS a national security threat, this Congress has buckled under pressure from giant pharmaceutical companies," said Jeff Jacobs, Director of Government Affairs at AIDS Action. "They've turned their back on poor people in poor countries that can't possibly afford the drugs that could save their lives."

The senators' plan, backed by the Administration and the U.S. Trade Representative, calls for a relaxation of U.S. drugmakers' intellectual property rights in order to make AIDS drugs more available to developing countries. The measure would allow the importation or manufacture of cheaper versions of the drugs, in recognition of the growing AIDS emergency.

"Some of these therapies can cost more than $14,000 a year per patient. But the epidemic's hardest-hit countries are also some of the world's poorest," said Jacobs. "Perhaps this isn't in line with the drug companies' business plans, but the moral obligation remains."

"We urge the President to do the right thing. He can help to alleviate the suffering of an entire generation of Africans, and perhaps secure a healthier future for their children," Jacobs said.