Governance, the International Trading System and Access to Antiretrovirals

Abstract

The question of universal access to life-saving drugs like antiretrovirals is inevitably emotive. ARVs are the only proven means of staving off AIDS. That so many in Africa do not have access to ARVs is clearly problematic, both morally and medically. The need for a comprehensive biomedical framework for African states has never been more urgent. An obvious starting point for consideration is cost. Here, the HIV/AIDS story comes with a ready made villain in the shape of the multinational pharmaceutical giants, perceived by some critics to be making billions of dollars in profits whilst people across sub-Saharan Africa die. Campaigners pressing for universal access to ARVs point to the influence of ‘Big Pharma’ in driving and shaping both American and WTO policies on the protection of intellectual property rights with respect to the patenting of their products. The extension of these rights across the globe has cemented the major drug companies’ control over the international pharmaceutical market and, with it, their ability to control prices and access. The rules regulating the governance of international trade are thus pivotal to the future of HIV/AIDS treatment, particularly in poorer countries where price concerns can mean the difference between life and death.