ABSTRACT
The group suggested that WHO, the pharmaceutical industry – patent holders and generic producers – and low income countries should work together to agree on guidelines. In 1986 and 1987, the US withheld its contribution to the budget of WHO, allegedly because of its disapproval of WHO’s policies on breast food substitutes and essential drugs. International NGOs have engaged in a long-term effort to broaden the access of poor populations to essential medicines, to obtain significant price reductions on brand medicine from pharmaceutical companies, to promote the production and sale of generic drugs. The law suit in South Africa did not project a compassionate image of the industry: the case was abandoned only as a result of public pressures from NGOs and the fear of a lasting negative effect on the companies. Oxfam agreed and the NGO said that the Doha Declaration was an important step forward in the campaign for affordable medicines.
