• Read the Report
  • Contact Us
Global Commission on HIV and the LawGlobal Commission on HIV and the LawGlobal Commission on HIV and the Law
Menu
  • Background
    • HIV and the Law
    • Commission Overview
    • Commissioners
    • Technical Advisory Group
  • Report
    • 2012 Report
    • 2018 Supplement
  • 10-10-10 Partnership
  • Dialogues
    • Global Dialogue 2018
      • 2018 Supplement
      • Global Dialogue 2018 Videos
    • Global Dialogue 2012
      • Video
      • Photo Gallery
      • Speeches
    • Regional Dialogues
      • Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue
      • Caribbean
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • Latin America
      • Africa
      • Middle East and North Africa
      • High Income Countries
      • Civil Society Participation
      • Submissions to the Regional Dialogues
  • Implementation
    • Access to Health Technologies
      • Competition Law Guidance
      • Competition Law Webinar
      • 2022 Supplement
    • Civic Space
    • Digital
      • Guidance on the rights-based and ethical use of digital technologies
    • Programmes
      • Being LGBTI in Asia
      • Challenging stigma and discrimination in the Caribbean
      • Guidance for Prosecutors on HIV-related Criminal Cases
      • Improving SRHR for young key populations in Southern Africa
      • International Guidelines on Human Rights & Drug Policy
      • Multi-Country Western Pacific Integrated HIV/TB Project
      • Promoting a rights-based response to HIV in Africa
      • Removing legal barriers in Africa
      • South Asia Global Fund HIV Programme
      • UHC Legal Solutions Network
    • Follow Up
      • Follow Up Stories
      • Legal Environment Assessments
      • Leave No One Behind: Lessons from the Global Commission on HIV and the Law for Agenda 2030
  • Resources
    • eLibrary
      • Capacity Development Toolkits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Legal Environment Assessments, Reviews and Audits
      • National Dialogue Reports
      • Policy and Issue Briefs
      • Research, Discussion Papers and Reports
    • Evaluation of the Global Commission on HIV & the Law
    • Report & Working Papers
      • Read the Report
      • 2018 Supplement
      • Working Papers
      • Submissions
      • Presentations
      • Articles and Speeches from Commissioners
      • Selected Bibliographies
    • Regional Dialogue Resources
      • Asia-Pacific
      • Caribbean
      • Latin America
      • Eastern Europe and Central Asia
      • Africa
      • High Income Countries
    • HIV and the Law Animated Video
  • News
    • News Articles
    • Press Releases
    • Newsletter Archives
  • Past Events

Statement supporting the Government of Indonesia’s move to increase access to treatment

Share this post

Statement supporting the Government of Indonesia’s move to increase access to treatment

Published on Thursday, 15 November 2012 02:45
12 November 2012 – News reports have confirmed that the Government of Indonesia, with the signing of a Decree by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has authorized the government use of patents for seven medicines used to treat HIV and Hepatitis.

According to the Presidential Decree, the Government use orders will remain valid for the duration of the patent terms of the medicines. At a time when free trade agreements and a push towards heightened intellectual property enforcement are curtailing policy space available under the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS Agreement, this Government use order underscores the importance of preserving and using as required, TRIPS flexibilities to increase access to treatment for HIV and for its co-infections.

This was one of the key recommendations from the final report of the Global Commission entitled: “HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights & Health”. Download Statement as PDF The Government use orders in Indonesia come at a critical juncture. Several low and middle income countries including Indonesia are actively exploring ways to sustain their AIDS responses in light of declining external donor funding for AIDS.

In recent years, the Indonesian government has increased its investment of the AIDS response from 27 percent in 2006 to 40 percent of total AIDS spending in 2010. As countries explore all necessary means to meet the cost of expanding and sustaining national treatment programmes, the use of TRIPS flexibilities should continue to be a viable policy option available to low and middle income countries everywhere.

According to UNAIDS there were an estimated number of 608,667 people living with HIV in Indonesia at the end of 2011. Although 24,400 people were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2011, according to the Ministry of Health, an estimated 95 percent of those on treatment were still on first generation ART. One of the seven patented medicines subjected to a Government use order is the second generation ARV combination of lopinavir + ritonavir, marketed by Abbott Laboratories as Kaletra. According to treatment activists, the medicine sells for approximately $1,000 per patient per year in the public sector in Indonesia.

The same combination is available from generic pharmaceutical manufacturers for less than $400 per patient per year. The Government of Indonesia has taken an important step to reduce the cost of medicines, which will, in turn, allow more people who need treatment to receive it. As a result, more people will get the opportunity to look after their families, contribute to the economy and lead productive lives.

We applaud the Government of Indonesia for prioritizing the lives and public health needs of its citizens over the profits of the multinational pharmaceutical industry.

The following individuals served as Commissioners for the Global Commission on HIV and the Law and make this statement in their individual capacity:
Ms. Ana Helena Chacón-Echeverría, former Congresswoman in Costa Rica
Mr. Charles Chauvel, Member of Parliament in New Zealand
Ms. Bience Gawanas, Commissioner of Social Affairs on the African Commission
Hon. Dame Carol Kidu, former Member of Parliament in Papua New Guinea
Hon. Michael Kirby, former Justice of the High Court of Australia
Mr. Stephen Lewis, co-director and co-founder of AIDS-Free World
Mr. JVR Prasada Rao, UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific
Professor Sylvia Tamale, leading African feminist lawyer and scholar
Mr. Jon Ungphakorn, social activist and former Senator in Thailand

Recent Posts

  • Legal empowerment is key to ending AIDS
  • UNDP and PEPFAR partnership to accelerate the removal of structural barriers to HIV services
  • Successfully expanding the rollout of PrEP in Indonesia
  • Decriminalizing HIV: Scientifically proven and morally correct
  • Ensuring sustainability of community-led HIV service delivery in Thailand

© 2017 [blog-link], All Rights Reserved.