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Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned {that a} UK-India commerce deal “will result in large price will increase for well being techniques and catastrophic delays in accessing medicines if British negotiating calls for are met.”
The UK desires India to implement sweeping modifications to its mental property guidelines as a part of any settlement, “threatening India’s capacity to provide cheap high quality medicines to the remainder of the world.”
In an opinion piece revealed on devex, Mr Obasanjo describes Indian generics as “a lifeline” which he famous helped to make HIV medicines reasonably priced for African international locations.
He nonetheless stated “a commerce deal between India and the UK might lower quick the lifeline.”
“Throughout my time as president of Nigeria, I noticed the influence of Indian generics firsthand. In 1999, as I started my second time period in workplace, Nigeria couldn’t afford HIV remedy, regardless that we had been experiencing one of many worst epidemics in Africa on the time,” he stated.
“Within the early 2000s, Indian generics slashed the worth of remedy from greater than $10,000 a yr per affected person to simply round $365, a greenback a day. By 2008, India equipped 84 per cent of Nigeria’s antiretroviral HIV medicines, saving numerous lives.”
He famous that Nigeria is now one in all India’s prime 5 importers of prescription drugs, spending over half a billion {dollars} yearly.
Negotiation
A negotiating paper leaked final yr revealed the extent of the UK’s mental property calls for for India.
The doc, experiences claimed, included growing the 20-year monopoly that pharmaceutical corporations can have on medicines earlier than going through generic competitors and repealing Indian laws which permits patents to be challenged earlier than they’re granted or prolonged.
Mr Obasanjo stated the UK’s proposals will result in “large price will increase for well being techniques and catastrophic delays in accessing medicines”.
READ ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Why I ordered Oyo Obas to face – Obasanjo
“India offers greater than half of Africa’s generic medicines, and a third of these utilized by the UK’s Nationwide Well being Service (NHS). Disrupting their provide is just not within the curiosity of our sufferers or our well being techniques,” he stated.
His article comes because the UK and India seem like inching nearer to the settlement. The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was additionally beforehand anticipated to journey to India to signal the deal as quickly as this week, however his journey has reportedly been postponed whereas areas of disagreement stay.
Mr Obasanjo stated the world has simply emerged from a pandemic marked by international inequality and the teachings of the final three years are clear.
He urged governments to work collectively to make sure that international locations can entry the expertise and know-how needed to securely and affordably manufacture and supply sufficient medical provides to satisfy populations’ wants.
“Free commerce agreements ought to make it simpler for all international locations to entry reasonably priced medicines,” he stated.
“They need to be sure that well being techniques can reply to rising threats whereas persevering with to supply routine well being companies.”
He stated the U.Ok.-India commerce deal is a chance for each international locations to advertise fairness and the well being of all populations.
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