CALLS: Weekly News - 23/2009
1) Special – HIV/AIDS Treatment Access Policies: pro-poor changes to Intellectual Property from incentives of States and actors? In low and middle-income countries, about 4 million HIV-infected people are receiving the specified antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), while 5 million are still in need. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for three quarters of these figures. Are there reasonable Trade&Policy signals that this scenario might rapidly improve? Terms of improvement should include, of course, not only the legal and financial obstacles influencing countries' ability to secure the medicines, but the factors conditioning manufacturers' (public and private) incentives to supply appropriate streams of reliable drugs. 2) Focus – Africa and ILO Global Jobs Pact – According to ILO, the Global Jobs Pact is a roadmap for the multilateral system, governments, workers and employers promoting efficient trade and markets. Recognizing the social and economic impact of the current global crisis, it promotes the support for the Millennium Development Goals.
Dr. Daniele Dionisio - Massimo Corsini
Equilibri.net (02 dicembre 2009)
Special
In low and middle-income countries, about 4 million HIV-infected people are receiving the specified antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), while 5 million are still in need. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for three quarters of these figures.
Are there reasonable Trade&Policy signals that this scenario might rapidly improve? Terms of improvement should include, of course, not only the legal and financial obstacles influencing countries' ability to secure the medicines, but the factors conditioning manufacturers' (public and private) incentives to supply appropriate streams of reliable drugs.
Actually, some perspective might favourably change now that controversial rules and practices by World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund are increasingly under pressure, and that new government policy choices and actors on world chessboard are emerging. These include (though being not limited to) unprecedented openings to Indian generics (through Food and Drug Administration channel) by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-PEPFAR, the UNITAID and World Health Organization-WHO (still uncertain, though keen) campaign towards the adoption of patent pool strategies for second/third line newer ARVs fixed-dose combinations and formulations for adults and children, the fast growing ARVs bulk purchasing activitities with the generic producers led by the Global Fund for AIDS/TB/Malaria and the Clinton Foundation-UNITAID coalition. Again, these include the ongoing work of the Expert Working Group established by WHO’s 61st World Health Assembly (May 2008) to examine innovative sources of funding (among others, Product Development Partnerships, Prizes, Advance Market Commitments, Patent buy-outs, Priority Review Vouchers, Health Impact Fund) to stimulate Research & Development (R&D) related to diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world (http://www.who.int/phi/ewg/en/index.html), while disconnecting the R&D costs from the product end prices.
New perspectives, albeit at present with hardly predictable balances/results, can also arise from:
New perspectives, again, could come from the fast pace of South-South and North-South cooperation. South industry high-level skills on innovation, manufacturing and marketing do entwine currently with steadily enhancing both South-South cooperation examples and outsourcing models in North-South R&D joint ventures. Multinational pharma companies are striking, indeed, more and more deals with Chinese and Indian drug researchers to outsource testing for drug candidates and replenish drug development pipelines, while accelerating, thanks to the efficiency of Eastern laboratories, a development process and saving billions of dollars in costs (in India, five PhD chemists can be employed for the cost of one in the West). Concurrently, Eastern researchers are benefitting through profit shares and intellectual property rights, while being aware that these collaborations will spur new breakthroughs in medical research and develop a local industry originally built on mere generic drugs.
Taken together, these realities mean that peer trade competition between wealthy and middle-income countries is already round the corner. In this context, for-equity gains in life-saving drug access should hopefully be achieved shortly, as a result of the overall dynamics, entwined interests and competition above.
Dr. Daniele Dionisio
Are there reasonable Trade&Policy signals that this scenario might rapidly improve? Terms of improvement should include, of course, not only the legal and financial obstacles influencing countries' ability to secure the medicines, but the factors conditioning manufacturers' (public and private) incentives to supply appropriate streams of reliable drugs.
Actually, some perspective might favourably change now that controversial rules and practices by World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund are increasingly under pressure, and that new government policy choices and actors on world chessboard are emerging. These include (though being not limited to) unprecedented openings to Indian generics (through Food and Drug Administration channel) by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief-PEPFAR, the UNITAID and World Health Organization-WHO (still uncertain, though keen) campaign towards the adoption of patent pool strategies for second/third line newer ARVs fixed-dose combinations and formulations for adults and children, the fast growing ARVs bulk purchasing activitities with the generic producers led by the Global Fund for AIDS/TB/Malaria and the Clinton Foundation-UNITAID coalition. Again, these include the ongoing work of the Expert Working Group established by WHO’s 61st World Health Assembly (May 2008) to examine innovative sources of funding (among others, Product Development Partnerships, Prizes, Advance Market Commitments, Patent buy-outs, Priority Review Vouchers, Health Impact Fund) to stimulate Research & Development (R&D) related to diseases that disproportionately affect the developing world (http://www.who.int/phi/ewg/en/index.html), while disconnecting the R&D costs from the product end prices.
New perspectives, albeit at present with hardly predictable balances/results, can also arise from:
- weakening USA Trade&Policy appeal over South-East Asia, South-America and Africa due to strong competitors such as China, India, and Russia.
- weakening USA influence over international chessboard.
- rising European Union reliability through improved member governments alignment in patent-related issues.
New perspectives, again, could come from the fast pace of South-South and North-South cooperation. South industry high-level skills on innovation, manufacturing and marketing do entwine currently with steadily enhancing both South-South cooperation examples and outsourcing models in North-South R&D joint ventures. Multinational pharma companies are striking, indeed, more and more deals with Chinese and Indian drug researchers to outsource testing for drug candidates and replenish drug development pipelines, while accelerating, thanks to the efficiency of Eastern laboratories, a development process and saving billions of dollars in costs (in India, five PhD chemists can be employed for the cost of one in the West). Concurrently, Eastern researchers are benefitting through profit shares and intellectual property rights, while being aware that these collaborations will spur new breakthroughs in medical research and develop a local industry originally built on mere generic drugs.
Taken together, these realities mean that peer trade competition between wealthy and middle-income countries is already round the corner. In this context, for-equity gains in life-saving drug access should hopefully be achieved shortly, as a result of the overall dynamics, entwined interests and competition above.
Dr. Daniele Dionisio
Africa and ILO Global Jobs Pact
The current financial and economic crisis, now a global jobs crisis, affects Africa with a deep social and economic impact, prospecting a prolonged global increase in unemployment, poverty and the continuing collapse of enterprises. Facing these challenges the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted in June 2009 the Global Jobs Pact, designed to guide national and international policies for stimulating economic recovery, generating jobs and providing protection to working people*.
The Global Jobs Pact, reached during the 98th Session of the ILO, recognise the role of the state to encourage a return to growth, such as easing the credit crunch, implementing labour market policies for employment, regulating the financial system, encouraging private enterprises, avoiding protectionist solutions (in the respect of the principles of free markets, rule of the law and property). According to ILO Director General Juan Somavia, “a global pact is a commitment by the ILO … to make employment and social protection a central element of all economic and social policies” promoting “a productive vision led by investments and enterprises, social protection and job creation” (June 2009). As a roadmap promoting efficient trade and markets, the Pact “will enable each country to formulate a policy package specific to its situation and priorities”**. Notably, the pact will try to promote a policy framework grounded in market principles, help enterprises through the crisis, return to fiscal sustainability, facilitate enterprises growth and development, promote economic diversity, strengthen social protection measures and protect the most vulnerable.
The current crisis hit the USA in September 2008 and then spread in Europe. A third wave of the crisis hit Africa, with the potential of reaching even more serious proportions given the nature of developing economies involved***. The situation is aggravated by structural high unemployment, low productivity, lack of decent work, vulnerable employment, high brain drain, poverty, food insecurity, climate change, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, protracted conflicts in some countries. In Africa, growth rates have declined, trade revenues have fallen, foreign direct investment are declining and remittances are falling too****.
The Pact received endorsement from the Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Labour and Social Affairs Commission (October 2009), which adopted the Declaration on the Implementation of the Global Jobs Pact. The AU, concerned about the current crisis which threatens to reverse the economic and social gains, reaffirmed the commitment to the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact in Africa so as to guide national, regional and international policies aimed at stimulating economic recovery and generating jobs*****. The implementation of the Global Jobs Pact is now expected at national level, considering option such as public infrastructure investment, special employment programmes, broadening of social protection and minimum wages. According to ILO, in sub-Saharan Africa 73% of the today workers are in vulnerable employment, and this could rise to more than 77% in 2009. The crisis poses a serious threat to investment in infrastructure and capital goods that are crucial for the region’s continued development******.
Massimo Corsini
Notes and references
Africa and ILO Global Jobs Pact
* ILO adopts “Global Jobs Pact” aimed at creating jobs, protecting workers and stimulating economic recovery, in ILO press release, 19 June 2009, ILO/09/39, available on-linehttp://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_108482/index.htm Following its adoption, the Pact received endorsements from the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development (26 June 2009), from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), from the L’Aquila G8 Summit (July 2009) and from the G20 leaders’ Washington and Pittsburgh summits.
** International Organization of Employers, The Global Jobs Pact, Employers’ Guide, June 2009, p. 2
*** ILO Regional Office for Africa, Recovering from the crisis: The implementation of the Global Jobs Pact in Africa, First African Decent Work Symposium, Ouagadougou, 1-2 December 2009, p. 4. According to ODI, The global financial crisis and developing countries: Taking stock, taking action, September 2009, it is estimated that, by the end of this year, Sub-Saharan African countries may loose an income of more than 50 billion USD (economic growth for the whole African continent is expected to reduce to 1.7% in 2009 – in contrast with + 4.9% in 2001, + 6.5% in 2002, + 5.4% in 2003, + 6.7% in 2004, + 5.7% in 2005, + 6.1% in 2006, +6.3% in 2007 and + 5.2% in 2008). Africa is expected to have at least 11 countries hard-hit by the crisis, namely Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Sudan and Zambia. They will face negative impact on their balance of payments and trade balances.
**** For a wide analysis see ILO Regional Office for Africa, Recovering from the crisis: The implementation of the Global Jobs Pact in Africa, pp. 4-12
***** African Union, Draft Declaration on the Implementation of the Global Jobs Pact In Africa, Addis Ababa, 29 September 2009
****** See Magazine World of Work 66, August 2009: Global Jobs Pact; The many facets of the crisis; ILC, 2009: ILO Jobs Summithttp://www.ilo.org/wow/PrintEditions/lang--en/docName--WCMS_113838/index.htm
For further informations and analyses: Center for African Law and Legislation Studies (CALLS)
The Global Jobs Pact, reached during the 98th Session of the ILO, recognise the role of the state to encourage a return to growth, such as easing the credit crunch, implementing labour market policies for employment, regulating the financial system, encouraging private enterprises, avoiding protectionist solutions (in the respect of the principles of free markets, rule of the law and property). According to ILO Director General Juan Somavia, “a global pact is a commitment by the ILO … to make employment and social protection a central element of all economic and social policies” promoting “a productive vision led by investments and enterprises, social protection and job creation” (June 2009). As a roadmap promoting efficient trade and markets, the Pact “will enable each country to formulate a policy package specific to its situation and priorities”**. Notably, the pact will try to promote a policy framework grounded in market principles, help enterprises through the crisis, return to fiscal sustainability, facilitate enterprises growth and development, promote economic diversity, strengthen social protection measures and protect the most vulnerable.
The current crisis hit the USA in September 2008 and then spread in Europe. A third wave of the crisis hit Africa, with the potential of reaching even more serious proportions given the nature of developing economies involved***. The situation is aggravated by structural high unemployment, low productivity, lack of decent work, vulnerable employment, high brain drain, poverty, food insecurity, climate change, diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, protracted conflicts in some countries. In Africa, growth rates have declined, trade revenues have fallen, foreign direct investment are declining and remittances are falling too****.
The Pact received endorsement from the Seventh Ordinary Session of the African Union Labour and Social Affairs Commission (October 2009), which adopted the Declaration on the Implementation of the Global Jobs Pact. The AU, concerned about the current crisis which threatens to reverse the economic and social gains, reaffirmed the commitment to the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact in Africa so as to guide national, regional and international policies aimed at stimulating economic recovery and generating jobs*****. The implementation of the Global Jobs Pact is now expected at national level, considering option such as public infrastructure investment, special employment programmes, broadening of social protection and minimum wages. According to ILO, in sub-Saharan Africa 73% of the today workers are in vulnerable employment, and this could rise to more than 77% in 2009. The crisis poses a serious threat to investment in infrastructure and capital goods that are crucial for the region’s continued development******.
Massimo Corsini
Notes and references
Africa and ILO Global Jobs Pact
* ILO adopts “Global Jobs Pact” aimed at creating jobs, protecting workers and stimulating economic recovery, in ILO press release, 19 June 2009, ILO/09/39, available on-linehttp://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_108482/index.htm Following its adoption, the Pact received endorsements from the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development (26 June 2009), from the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), from the L’Aquila G8 Summit (July 2009) and from the G20 leaders’ Washington and Pittsburgh summits.
** International Organization of Employers, The Global Jobs Pact, Employers’ Guide, June 2009, p. 2
*** ILO Regional Office for Africa, Recovering from the crisis: The implementation of the Global Jobs Pact in Africa, First African Decent Work Symposium, Ouagadougou, 1-2 December 2009, p. 4. According to ODI, The global financial crisis and developing countries: Taking stock, taking action, September 2009, it is estimated that, by the end of this year, Sub-Saharan African countries may loose an income of more than 50 billion USD (economic growth for the whole African continent is expected to reduce to 1.7% in 2009 – in contrast with + 4.9% in 2001, + 6.5% in 2002, + 5.4% in 2003, + 6.7% in 2004, + 5.7% in 2005, + 6.1% in 2006, +6.3% in 2007 and + 5.2% in 2008). Africa is expected to have at least 11 countries hard-hit by the crisis, namely Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Sudan and Zambia. They will face negative impact on their balance of payments and trade balances.
**** For a wide analysis see ILO Regional Office for Africa, Recovering from the crisis: The implementation of the Global Jobs Pact in Africa, pp. 4-12
***** African Union, Draft Declaration on the Implementation of the Global Jobs Pact In Africa, Addis Ababa, 29 September 2009
****** See Magazine World of Work 66, August 2009: Global Jobs Pact; The many facets of the crisis; ILC, 2009: ILO Jobs Summithttp://www.ilo.org/wow/PrintEditions/lang--en/docName--WCMS_113838/index.htm
For further informations and analyses: Center for African Law and Legislation Studies (CALLS)
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