Advisory: Massive rally on EU-India FTA in Delhi, 2 March
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MEDIA ADVISORY: WEDNESDAY, 2 MARCH 2011
RALLY – 10am, Ramlila Ground to Jantar Mantar, Delhi
PRESS CONFERENCE – 2 pm, Foreign Correspondents’ Club
HIV+ People From Across India and Asia Say –
“DON’T TRADE AWAY OUR LIVES” in the EU-India Free Trade Agreement
People living with HIV from across Asia who depend on affordable
generic AIDS medicines to stay alive will urge the Indian government
to stand strong against European Union demands on the sensitive
intellectual property (IP) chapter in ongoing free trade agreement
(FTA) negotiations.
The EU is pushing for harmful IP provisions to be included in the
trade agreement that will hinder access to quality, affordable generic
medicines produced in India, the “pharmacy of the developing world.”
Affordable medicines produced in India have played a major role in
scaling up AIDS treatment to more than five million people across
Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Roughly 2,000 people living with HIV coming from different parts of
India and Asia are expected to rally alongside the United Nations
Special Rapporteur for the Right to Health in New Delhi to highlight
the grave danger this FTA brings to countless human lives in
developing countries by preventing the production, registration and
distribution of quality affordable generic medicines.
World Trade Organization rules already obligated India to start
granting medicines patents in 2005. This is preventing production and
access to affordable versions of Hepatitis C drugs and the new
generation of cancer and HIV/AIDS drugs, some of which have already
been patented in India.
At a press conference following the rally, patient groups will share
their concerns about the impact of trade agreements on their lives,
and will provide technical background on the intellectual property and
investment provisions in the proposed FTA.
PRESS CONFERENCE:
– When: Wednesday 2 March 2011, 2pm
– Where: Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, AB-19, Mathura Road, New Delhi
Speakers:
– Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
– Rajiv Kafle, Asia Pacific Network of Positive People (APN+)
– Abou Mere, Indian Drug User’s Forum (IDUF)
– Loon Gangte, Delhi Network of Positive People (DNP+)
– Y.K. Sapru, Cancer Patients AID Association (CPAA)
For interviews and information contact:
– Sheila Shettle: +91.98.7180.0723
– Shailly Gupta: +91.98.9997.6108
