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India for regional cooperation on cheaper drugs
Monday, 08 September 2003, 19:30 IST
NEW DELHI: India Monday called for bilateral cooperation among Southeast Asian countries to ensure easy availability of cheaper drugs in the region and to encourage the use of traditional medicines.
"Developing countries need to draw up effective strategies to ensure greater market access for generic and patented drugs which they are able to produce at competitive prices," said External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha.
"Where appropriate, we must evolve common platforms in international forums, including the WTO, and enter into bilateral as well as regional arrangements," said Sinha, who was addressing a two-day meeting here of health ministers of the WHO Southeast Asia region.
The Southeast Asia region of WHO, which groups 11 countries, represents 40 percent of the world's poor, global maternal and neo-natal deaths, cases of tuberculosis and deaths due to infectious diseases, Sinha noted.
Alongside collaboration on research and development of cheaper medicines, Sinha stressed the "need to promote indigenous medicines".
"Many of us have strong traditions of indigenous medicines which derive from our rich resources of biodiversity. Indigenous medicines are relatively cheap and normally have few side effects," he said.
India has been at the forefront of developing nations that have expressed concern over the effect of trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS) on the price of life-saving drugs.
Earlier this month, some headway was made in WTO negotiations, with developed nations agreeing to waive the intellectual property consideration in times of emergency and allowing developing nations to access cheaper drugs.
With the world moving towards holistic systems of medicine where synergies between different systems are being harnessed, Health Minister Sushma Swaraj urged countries participating in the meet to "forge alliances and further mutual cooperation in this vital area".
Swaraj said: "The issue of essential drugs remains of paramount importance, specially for developing countries. The issue is complex and has many facets, which range from availability, quality, pricing, procurement, distribution, storage to updating of standards."
She noted that traditional systems of medicines, which have a strong base in Southeast Asia, could provide an alternative means for affordable medicines.
"In our view, healthcare systems must give further recognition and encouragement to codified systems of traditional medicines," she said.
India has launched a programme for scientifically proving the benefits of some traditional medicines for international acceptance.
Essential drugs, progress on the Declaration on Health Development in Southeast Asia in the 21st century, the framework convention on tobacco control and prevention and control of SARS are among issues that will figure in the meeting.
Review of the need for a regional alcohol action plan and quality control of essential drugs will also be taken up, said Uton Muchtar Rafei, regional director of WHO.
Rafei was hopeful that a fund of about $200 million to be provided by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation to Southeast Asia would help boost efforts to eradicate preventable diseases.
"It is now for WHO and the national governments to stress the central role for health in the development process," he said.
Source: IANS
Source: IANS