TRIPS, the Doha Declaration and increasing access to medicines: policy options for Ghana
Date
2005
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Globalization and Health
Abstract
There are acute disparities in pharmaceutical access between developing and industrialized
countries. Developing countries make up approximately 80% of the world's population but only
represent approximately 20% of global pharmaceutical consumption. Among the many barriers to
drug access are the potential consequences of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. Many developing countries have recently modified their patent laws to
conform to the TRIPS standards, given the 2005 deadline for developing countries. Safeguards to
protect public health have been incorporated into the TRIPS Agreement; however, in practice
governments may be reluctant to exercise such rights given concern about the international trade
and political ramifications. The Doha Declaration and the recent Decision on the Implementation
of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health may provide
more freedom for developing countries in using these safeguards. This paper focuses on Ghana, a
developing country that recently changed its patent laws to conform to TRIPS standards. We
examine Ghana's patent law changes in the context of the Doha Declaration and assess their
meaning for access to drugs of its population. We discuss new and existing barriers, as well as
possible solutions, to provide policy-makers with lessons learned from the Ghanaian experience.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
pharmaceutical access, pharmaceutical consumption, TRIPS, Doha Declaration