Children Can’t Wait! Dying for Drugs in Developing Countries

Almost five years ago, Parliament responded to the urgent need for medicines in many developing countries by creating “Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime” (CAMR), with the goal of getting affordable medicines to people in the developing world. Unfortunately, that laudable initiative was, and is, seriously flawed.

But now there is a chance to fix it! Join us in applying pressure on Canadian parliamentarians. The Canadian government has the ability to save lives and get essential medicines to ailing patients in developing countries. Right now, we could help thousands of people in developing countries survive — especially children.

Did you know?

• 2.3 million children under the age of 15 are infected with HIV.
• One in two children with HIV in the developing world dies before reaching his or her second birthday.
• Less than 15% of the 780,000 children who need treatment are on the necessary medicines.
• More than half a million children die of AIDS every year, “simply because the world imposes such an obscene division between rich and poor,” says Stephen Lewis, the former UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Every day matters. The timing is crucial. Here’s why:

• Amendments to the legislation are being prepared right now.
• Canada’s largest generic drug company, Apotex, has promised to make a lower-cost children’s version of a key AIDS drug for export — if Canada’s law is streamlined.
• Current treatments for children — even where available — are challenging. For instance, kids struggle to take bad-tasting syrups, which are hard to store and refrigerate, need to be taken frequently and are difficult for the caregiver to transport the required large quantities from hospitals to homes.

It’s time for Parliament to act — and for Canadians and others to make sure it does.

• Take Action
• Key Documents

Take Action

Do 1 or more of these 5 things — some of them will only take a few seconds!

1. Support the passage of Bill C-393 in the House of Commons
   E-mail Federal Party Leaders, the Prime Minister, and local MPs to support the passage of Bill C-393 in the House of Commons (link hosted by Universities Allied for Essential Medicines).
   
   
2. Tell your MP! Phone, meet with or send a postcard or e-mail
   Send a postcard to your MP to ask them to fix CAMR and support the “one-licence solution” that would streamline it, making it much easier for developing countries to get medicines their people need. Follow it up with a phone call, an e-mail or a letter, or even a meeting with your MP, asking him or her to help fix CAMR. (Find your MP using your postal code.)
   
   
3. Join us on Facebook
   The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network is now on Facebook.
   
   
4. Tell 3 friends
   Spread the word. Tell friends, families and co-workers they can join in this important campaign to help get affordable medicines to people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Forward this simple link: www.aidslaw.ca/camr.
   
   
5. Donate
   Every dollar you give helps create more awareness and ensure success. Whether it’s $10 or $100, please consider financially supporting the CAMR campaign. Go to www.aidslaw.ca/donate.

To get your free postcards, contact Lindsey Amèrica-Simms, Outreach Coordinator, at lsimms@aidslaw.ca.

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Key Documents

Briefs and Backgrounders

• Professor Fred Abbott's November 19 submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce — leading expert on international trade, intellectual property and access to medicines gives strong legal opinion that proposed reforms to CAMR are TRIPS-compliant.
  
  
• Making CAMR Work: Streamlining Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime — Brief to the Senate Banking, Trade and Commerce Committee regarding Bill S-232
  
  
• Delivering on the pledge, treating the most vulnerable — Ensuring affordable AIDS drugs for children in the developing world by streamlining Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime
  
  
• Fixing Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime (CAMR): 20 Questions & Answers — An overview of CAMR, the problem with it, the proposed solution and the arguments
  
  
• Delivery past due: global precedent set under Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime — feature article in HIV/AIDS Policy & Law Review 13(1)
  
  
• Getting the Regime Right — Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology regarding Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime
  
  
• Review of Canada's Access to Medicines Regime — Legal Network submission to the Government of Canada
  
  
• Delivering on the Pledge: Reforming Canada's Access to Medicines Regime — GTAG submission to the Government of Canada

Other Materials

• "Global Health: Canada Could Lead" — op-ed in NOW Magazine, June 3–9, 2010, Issue 1480, Volume 29, Number 40
  
  
• Delivering on the Pledge: Global Access to Medicines, WTO Rules, and Reforming Canada’s Law on Compulsory Licensing for Export — article in McGill International Journal of Sustainable Development Law & Policy, Volume 3, Issue 1
  
  
• Access to Medicines and Intellectual Property — An International Expert Meeting on Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime, Global Developments, and New Strategies for Improving Access

Learn More:

• Publications
• News releases

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