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INTERVIEW - Loon Gangte |
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| "PLWHA play a vital role in improving access
to treatment and advocating for policy development" |
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| How important is treatment
to a PLWHA and how feasible is it considering the new Indian
Legal Regime on TRIPS? |
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| In the absence of a cure, treatment, especially ARV therapy,
is the best recourse available for a person living with HIV.
In other words ARV is the lifeline of PLWHA. The new Indian
Legal Regime viz. TRIPS is severely hampering the lifeline of
people living with HIV/AIDS as it would lead to the increased
cost of ARV drugs. |
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| What role can advocacy play in ARV supply
and quality health services for PLWHA. Do you think insufficient
advocacy has resulted in inadequate ARV supply and a lack of
access to quality health services? |
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| I do believe that advocacy can and has played a crucial role
in ARV supply (look at the fruits of advocacy in Thailand and
South Africa) and I also strongly believe that insufficient
advocacy, especially in India has resulted in lack of access
to ARVs and lack of quality health services. |
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| What is your understanding of TRIPS? Do
you agree with the current Indian Patent Regime viz TRIPS and
why? |
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| I am uncomfortable with the current Indian Patent Regime viz.
TRIPS, as second line ARV treatment will be not affordable.
This TRIPS+ (which goes beyond the TRIPS obligation) regime
does not promote competition among Indian Generic Pharmaceutical
Companies, but monopoly by Multi National Companies This will
not only affect the PLWHA in India but many people in the developing
countries who rely on Indian Generic ARVs. |
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| As a PLWHA, what advice would you give
policy makers and governments in developing countries like India
concerning treatment |
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| The policy makers and the government should, at any cost,
safe guard the Indian Generic Pharmaceutical Companies who produced
cheap but effective ARV drugs not only for India, but for other
developing countries as well. Through the Compulsory Licensing
Mechanism, the government can give licenses to pharmaceutical
companies to manufacture generic drugs by giving a certain 'royalty'
to the patent holder. Unfortunately, the new patent act of India
has a very ineffective Compulsory Licensing process because
a generic company has to wait for 3 years after the grant of
the patent, before they can get a Compulsory License to start
manufacturing cheaper drugs. The government in this regard should
change this provision in the Act to ensure that Compulsory Licenses
are given quickly and smoothly. Most second line ARV drugs and
newer more effective drugs will be patented in India making
them unaffordable. The Global Fund money which is available
for ARV treatment needs to be used more efficiently. |
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| How can donors and funding agencies be
involved in access to treatment? |
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| Since most of the donors or funding agency are also working
with the government. they are and would continue to be influential
in advocating access to treatment . Further, they can be involved
in advocacy, giving technical assistance and funding ARV programmes
directly. |
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| What is the role of PLWHA in improving
access to HIV/AIDS related treatment and develop policies for
their improvement? |
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| PLWHA play a vital role in improving access to treatment and
advocating for policy development, giving their inputs, giving
treatment education to other PLWHA to achieve maximum benefits
from ARVs. |
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| What do you think is the role of CSOs
in influencing the government's policy on treatment? |
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| CSOs are the first contact point between PLWHA
and the government, therefore their inputs in influencing the
government's policy on treatment are very important. Also ,
during the implementation of ART, CSOs have a major role to
play. The government should link up CSOs across the country
as ART involves supply of medicines which can be taken up by
government while the follow up activities on nutrition and counseling
can be taken forward by the CSOs. |
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| Loon Gangte is the President of Delhi Network
of Positive People. |
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