The AIDS Law Project (ALP) and the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) welcome this opportunity to make written submissions on the Patents Amendment Bill [B 17 - 2005] (“the Bill”). As two organisations that have consistently advocated for the development of our patent system into one that considers South Africa’s competitive advantage and takes into account the specific needs of its people, we support what the Bill aims to achieve and, in general terms, how it goes about accomplishing its stated objective.
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SubmissionsThe ALP and Treatment Action Campaign made a submission to the Jali Commission in March 2004 entitled “HIV/AIDS in Prison: Treatment, Intervention, and Reform” [NOTE: LINK TO EARLIER SUBMISSION]. The submission dealt with the origins and causes of HIV infection in prisons, HIV prevalence in prisons, the HIV/AIDS policy of the Department of Correctional Services, including early release, and finally made recommendations, including several on the early release of prisoners with HIV/AIDS. Section 27(2) of the Constitution imposes on the state a positive obligation to take reasonable measures to realise the right of access to health care services for all. By enacting the Medical Schemes Act, 131 of 1998 (the Act), government has created a powerful framework for the effective regulation of the private medical scheme industry. In prison, HIV/AIDS exacerbates existing problems and also creates new ones, yet the potential for far-reaching positive impact remains. Prisons are an intervention opportunity to reach a segment of the population, which is most likely to need government services related to HIV/AIDS and is also least likely to receive them through any other channel. Most people who end up in prison come from marginalised communities with limited access to health, education, and/or other sources of social welfare. For many of these people, their interaction with the criminal justice system will be their most extensive exposure to public services of any kind. Without an appropriate response to HIV/AIDS in prisons, the potential consequences will be increasingly tragic for both prisoners and the communities they represent. The global AIDS epidemic is one of the greatest threats to security and development in the world. Millions of people in developing countries are dying of AIDS, TB and malaria – while the first world sits idly by. High prices of medicines, protected from competition by patent law, make it impossible for poor people to protect themselves against illness and death. The global AIDS epidemic is one of the greatest threats to security and development in the world. Millions of people in developing countries are dying of AIDS, TB and malaria – while the first world sits idly by. High prices of medicines, protected from competition by patent law, make it impossible for poor people to protect themselves against illness and death. This submission comments on the Draft Regulations Relating to Foodstuffs for Infants and Young Children (“the Regulations”) published in terms of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act 54 of 1972. The arguments and recommendations in this submission are based on a number of human rights and public health considerations. In particular we have focused on the following four areas: the rights of the survivor of sexual assault; the rights of the accused; theimpact of the draft bill on public health measures to limit spread of HIV; and the impact of the bill on state services for survivors of sexual assault. These are not isolated concerns, being interrelated and having an impact on each other. On 19 April 2001, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association of South Africa (PMA) and numerous multinationalbrand-name pharmaceutical companies abandoned their legal challenge to the Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act, 90 of 1997 (the Medicines AmendmentAct). |
 
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