Sandeep P. Kishore Medical Scientist Training Program Fellow Weill Cornell / The Rockefeller University / Sloan-Kettering Institute On day two of the meeting, there were two themes. One was on access to essential medicines and the other was on conflict of interest. On access, several countries including Mauritius, Serbia, Thailand, Tanzania India stressed ensuring access to essential medicines and specifically noted intellectual property barriers. Of note, the International Atomic Energy Agency pledged to help make radiotherapies to treat cancer patients available. But perhaps the most forceful and compelling message came from the Director General of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan herself. She argued that the industry must understand the importance of price. In particular, she focused on the price and availability of insulin, arguing that this drug is not at all affordable globally and that now is the time for pharmaceutical manufacturers to help rectify that. She argued that companies should not be allowed to tap into the market unless the price is right for governments and households in the developing world. Consumer International made a crucial distinction between public interest NGOs (PINGOs) and business and industry NGOs (BINGOs). The representative stated that BINGOs should not be involved in policy formulation but in the implementation of public policies. Thailand affirmed this difference as well stating that there is priority to corporations over global health. Thailand argues for global governance to protect health in trade domains and to exclude NCD risk factors from trade agreements like tobacco and alcohol. |