(a) whether India , Brazil and China have received a delegation form the World Health Organisation’s(WHO) Commission on intellectual property rights innovation and public health;
(b) whether Commission’s top agenda during the visit was to make provision of affordability ,availability and accessibility to medicines for the people of India and other countries ; and
(c) the extent to which drugs affordability to all the countries including India has been achieved ?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH & FAMILY WELFARE( SMT. PANABAKA LAKSHMI)
(a) to (c): The World Health Organisation (WHO) has constituted a “Commission on Intellectual property Rights, Innovation and Public Health†(CIPIH) to “produce an analysis of Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation, and Public Health, including the question of appropriate funding and incentive mechanisms for the creation of new medicines and other products against diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries.
This Commission visited India during November 2004 with a view to hearing presentations from public sector scientists, drug manufacturers associations, NGOs, senior government officials, representatives of biotech companies etc. The ministry of Health & Family Welfare presented the perspective on TRIPS Patents Act 1970 and subsequent amendments and the implications for India’s health and drug policies.
The Commission would submit its report to WHO which is expected to be shared with the member countries of WHO during World health Assembly in May 2005.