The Life Trade Organization: Negotiating Access To Medicines And The Enjoyment Of Human Rights For All Members Of The Human Family

By Constance Georgina Khaendi Walyaro

"One person is infected with HIV every 6.4 seconds. Without treatment ½ of all children with HIV/AIDS in developing countries will die before their second birthday"

Health is a fundamental human right, indispensable for the exercise of other rights. Access to medicine is critical to protect this right, particularly in the context of endemic diseases.

Expanded protection for TRIPs (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) allows pharmaceuticals 20 years minimum, to monopolize production, supply, distribution and prices - by virtue or exclusivity, of their patented inventions. The high prices maintained ensure that medication isn´t affordable to those who need it most; in essence, putting profit before the right to health; life!

The Doha Declaration on TRIPs and Public Health reaffirmed countries´ abilities to use flexibilities permitted by TRIPs to increase access to medicines. However, flexibilities achieved in the multilateral context have been undermined by more restrictive TRIPS plus (TRIPs+) rules in bilateral and regional trade agreements. Further, the December 6th decision, that makes August 30th 2003 waiver permanent, only introduces more restrictive cumbersome mechanisms, that no developing country so far, has been able to use successfully.

An estimated 90 percent of people requiring ARVs have no access to treatment. Approximately half of the developing worlds ARVs are generic fixed-dose combinations. They greatly simplify administration of ARVs and have been critical in increasing treatment in resource-poor settings. The real impact of the full implementation of TRIPS+ in India, the largest producer of generic drugs, and other developing countries will become apparent in coming years as large numbers of patients currently on treatment are forced to switch to newer, more effective, patented second-line medicines which are 4 to 10 times more expensive than first-line treatments.

TRIPs must be human-rights-consistent and development-orientated, maximizing health benefits, minimizing risks, especially for poor and vulnerable populations. By understanding how the international trading system and international human rights framework operate we can advocate within these complex systems to fight the proliferation of TRIPS+ rules and ensure that they don´t go against the primacy of health over trade.

HIV/AIDS is changing civilizations forever; ravaging continents' demographics; hacking away more than 20 years of hard gains made in education, food security and socio-economic development; making our families poorer, and setting into motion a vicious circle of poverty - HIV/AIDS – poverty. Affordable medication is not a panacea for the HIV/AIDS crisis, but will continue to be the foundation of any meaningful effort to save millions of lives. Do your part. Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise! Trade Justice Now!

By Gabrielle Trenbath

Most of us have been hearing a lot about climate change, especially after the Stern report was released in the UK. With all the information and statistics that have been made available, many young people and professionals find it challenging to know what to do to make a positive difference.

Human existence has a huge impact on the planet and as Kofi Annan correctly points out that human activities were putting "such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted" (Emad Mekay, Triage for an Ailing Planet: 1). While it is important that both big business and governments should conduct their business in an environmentally friendly way and provide leadership in doing so, it is individuals who can provide the real difference in the sustainability of our planet.

The Global Environmental Facility, the world’s largest environmental funding body, received a boost in funding recently after 32 countries arranged to contribute 3.13 billion dollars over the next four years. This amount is aimed to fund projects that look at biodiversity, climate change and land degradation.

The Frank Team (although they are Australian-based, yet their ideas could be transferred into other countries) have a number of suggestions regarding sustainable living including:
§ Use biodegradable toilets;
§ Consume as much local food (to reduce to amount of petrol used to transport food from one place to another), and increase governmental support of local brands;
§ Increase instillation in houses such as double glazing;
§ Enhance government subsidies on water tanks including tanks sold to industry;
§ Add solar collectors on every Australian house;
§ Reduce politicians pay by 2% until they do the above.

These ideas might seem a bit extreme but climate change is such a big issue that extreme measures are needed to address it. The suggestions made by the Frank Team and the Global Environmental Facility shows that work has to be done by individuals, Government and industry. We are all responsible for what happens to our planet and we need to keep the government and businesses accountable and responsible for their promises.

Apply Now to be An Acumen Fund Fellow in 2008
www.acumenfund.org .

Acumen Fund Applications close 31 January 2007.

Each year, the Acumen Fund Fellows Program provides extraordinary young professionals with a unique opportunity to use their skills to effect real social change with our portfolio organizations in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India and Pakistan, and to build lasting relationships with other like-minded individuals. Joining us in September, fellows will spend one year working with our team and with local entrepreneurs, gaining intensive experience in price performance, logistics, distribution systems, scaling and innovative technology. Fellows will learn and apply these skills while enjoying an unusual level of responsibility both at Acumen Fund and within our portfolio organizations.

Ideal fellows include those who have already decided on a career in venture philanthropy, those who are seeking a career at the highest levels in the corporate world but want to better understand and have an impact on problems of global poverty, and budding social entrepreneurs who want to learn about managing organizations in the most demanding settings.

We seek applications from young professionals with the skills, imagination and will to effect significant change through market-oriented approaches to global problem solving.

While capital is a constraint to building systems to make critical goods and services accessible to the poor, an even larger constraint is people. The world needs to build an "entrepreneurial bench" of top talent with strong financial and operational skills as well as the moral imagination to build appropriate enterprises with local stakeholders. Acumen Fund hopes to contribute by identifying and developing talent through the Fellows Program.

The Fellows Program is a one-year, experience-based fellowship. The fellows will first spend eight weeks in New York in an intensive training program where they will focus on business models for the poor and their own leadership - both theoretical and practical. They will examine issues related to our work from a sector and geographic perspective. And they will meet with extraordinary leaders who will share personal stories and brainstorm creative ways of tackling issues facing the world today.

At the end of this training, each fellow will be assigned to workwith an Acumen Fund investment and given a concrete set of deliverables for the next nine months. Following these assignments, fellows will return to New York City for a final month to share experiences, exchange lessons learned and focus on potential job opportunities. Our aim is no less than to build a corps of individuals who will be of great value to best-in-class organizations in both the social and private sectors.

Who should apply? Only those individuals with exceptional business skills, proven international interests and a great ability to work with people. Acumen Fund Fellows have the talent to do almost anything in their careers, and the vision to see themselves making significant change to challenging social problems. Fellows have the maturity to work with independence in Africa or South Asia. They are communicators and team players. They are individuals who do not accept the status quo. They are problem-solvers and listeners. They have a sense of humor. Previous international experience helps. So does a track record that demonstrates not only innovation and imagination but also the ability to work with teams and in diverse situations. In short, we are looking to identify some of the world's next generation of leaders.

Candidates must apply by 12 noon EST on January 31, 2007 so that we can select fellows by mid-April, with the program beginning in September. The Acumen Fund community is the best source of talent, so we ask your help in encouraging qualified candidates to apply.

Find out more information on the Fellows Program and application guidelines at:
www.acumenfund.org/About/opportunity.asp

Acumen Fund Applications close 31 January 2007.

The Huella Emprendedora project, an regional initiative done by the
International Young Professional Foundation (IYPF) and YES Latin
America, announced in YES Kenya 2006, the winners of its nearly
Regional Contest Logo implemented in 17 countries of Latin America
the past few months.

This competition was launched in July with the participation of an
international judging panel consisting of young entrepreneurs from
different countries around the world. Pip Collin (Inspire Foundation -
Australia), Martha Lee (YES Singapore), Amjad Baiazy (Ideaccess
Middle East - Syria), Pedro Marcelino (IYPF - Portugal), Mariana
Ballestero (Vientos del Sur - Argentina), Valentina Lozano (IYPF -
Colombia), Renata Affonso (Ambassador of YES In Latin America -
Brazil) and Jean Paul Chepiu (Red Online - Peru), were the members of
the international jury.

There were 2 categories in the Logo Contest: (1) the most involved
YES Country Network, and (2) the best logo design. Everyone got a
chance of winning US200 dollars as cash prize. Proposals were
received from Colombia, Guatemala, Panama and Peru. Jose Rodriguez of
YES Guatemala won because of his excellent logo proposal, and YES
Guatemala's high and active participation in all the process.

Ursula Carrascal, General Coordinator of Huella Emprendedora Project,
gave the announcement during YES Kenya 2006's Plenary 5: Building an
Entrepreneurial Culture... Stand Up Against Poverty: Bringing the power
of youth to achieving the MDG's. Ursula and Dacil Acevedo called
Guillermo Leverman, YES Country Coordinator from Guatemala to receive
the Certificates in behalf of his YCN and Jose Rodriguez.

For more photos from the event, see here
www.flickr.com/photos/55645770@N00/

For a full review of the Youth Employment Summit 2006 and the work of
YES since 2002, see www.yesweb.org/yeskenya2006.pdf

i am writing to let you know that all the IYPF Annual General Meeting presentations and documentation are available here: www.iypf.org/membership.htm#AGM

the minutes are also up there.

the 3 new IYPF directors - appointed for the next 2 years - are:
- Casius Chuma
- Greg Nelson
- Kate Plant

congratulations to them.

big thanks to JP, Mel and Alan who finish up their terms as directors.

i encourage you to review the presentation with its discussions of highlights, challenges and future directions - and financials. as you'll see, the IYPF has a lot of potential, is doing some good work, has great ideas for the future - but needs YOU to make it happen.

send me any feedback, ideas, questions, requests and offers for contribution!

the ideas in the presentation will be expanded a little in our final 2006 Annual Report.

cameron