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    Health GAP Press Releases

    Year 2005 Press Releases

    • SEPTEMBER 2005--RELEASE THE CONDOMS, FUND EFFECTIVE PREVENTION STRATEGIES, SAVE LIVES NOW! Community letter from individuals and organizations in and outside of Uganda demanding action on part of the Ugandan government to support comprehensive prevention programs, end abstinence-only programs, and immediately take steps to distribute quality assured condoms in public facilities. Send a letter to MOH Jim Muhwezi
    • September 2, 2005 (Manhattan) Health GAP and Physicians for Human Rights press UN members not to concede to US proposals to gut the World Summit Document. Call for stregthening language and commitments towards health care systems support and health worker scale-up needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Press release | Download Word doc
    • September 6, 2005 (London) Final pledges of money to the replenishment of the Global Fund for HIV, TB and Malaria fall drastically short of what was needed. The $3.7 billion pledged by donors is enough to sustain current programs. However, no funding for new prevention, treatment or care programmes for 2006 and 2007 was forthcoming. The disappointing U.S. pledge today of $600 over 2006 and 2007 is far less than the U.S. commitment to funding one-third of the Global Fund's needs of $7.1 billion over the two years. Press Release
    • September 19, 2005 "India's 2005 Patent Act: Death by Patent or Universal Access to Second- and Future-Generation AIDS Medications," by Brook Baker. Background Paper
    • August 30, 2005 Experts and activists speak out against 10 month long condom shortage in Uganda and the role of the Bush administration in deriding the use and promotion of condoms to prevent HIV. CHANGE and Health GAP release fact sheets and timelines regarding the Uganda condom crisis and US policies supporting abstinence-only programs through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
    • August 30, 2005 (Manhattan) A coalition of AIDS activists held a demonstration in midtown Manhattan outside of the Ugandan Permanent Mission to the United Nations today to bring attention to that nation's severe condom shortage which is putting people at dangerous risk of HIV infection. The crisis has developed over the past ten months as the government of Uganda has stopped its robust program of public sector condom distribution. These condoms previously accounted for 80% of condoms available in the country.
    • August 11, 2005 Letter from Health GAP, CHANGE, TAC, GMHC, Advocates for Youth, and CHAMP, calling upon Peter Piot to mobilize mass-awareness of the Ugandan condom crisis and its implications, and to urgently mobilize resources as necessary to get quality-assured condoms available to the public as well as to rebuild national trust in the Engabu brand and/or quality assured condoms distributed by the government. Read Letter | Download Word doc
    MORE INFORMATION
    • July 18, 2005 Imminent CAFTA Vote: Will Poor Nations Be Cut Off From Access To AIDS and Other Medicines? Conference with experts on issue of CAFTA choking the life out of access to treatment in Central America Media Advisory | Download transcript
    • July 15, 2005 Health GAP letter to the Secretary of State of Brazil regarding the country the need for an issuance of a compulsory license for production of generic lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) as well as other medicines whose high prices are threatening the sustainability of the Brazilian National AIDS Program. Download pdf of letter
    • July 14, 2005 Timeline of events and leading news accounts regarding Brazil's crisis with prices of second line ARV drugs. Download timeline (.doc)
    • July 8, 2005 Health GAP and Physicians for Human Rights release financial targets and interventions needed to scale-up health care workforces in Africa to meet MDGs and the target of universal HIV/AIDS treatment by 2010. The groups are calling for a global investment of US $2 billion in 2006, rising to $7.7 billion in 2010 by all donors, and have calculated the U.S. share as being one-third of the sum needed, or $650 million for 2006, rising to $2.6 billion in 2010. US spending could focus on countries funded under the PresidentÕs Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The figures were calculated by a group that included Lincoln C. Chen, MD, MPH, the Director of the Harvard University Global Equity Initiative and co-chair for coordination of the Joint Learning Initiative (JLI). Press release | Download PDF
    • July, 2005 Ahead of the G8 Summit, Health GAP and Physicians for Human Rights release release international letter calling for G8 commitments towards supporting builing up of healthcare workforce in Africa. Download letter to G8 (PDF)
    • June 30, 2005 Ahead of the G8 Summit United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for efforts to build affordable and efficient health systems in the developing world, particularly in Africa, which will require 1 million new health workers to meet internationally agreed meet the Millennium Development Goals for the 21st century. Health GAP press statement
      June 29, 2005 Will the G8 Learn the Lessons of 3 by 5, or Announce More Empty Promises? Health GAP released the following reaction to WHO's 'Report on Progress on Global Access to Antiretroviral Therapy, an Update on 3 by 5' (the full report is available at www.who.int/3by5). Health GAP Press statement
    • JUNE 24, 2005 Health GAP statement on Brazil's authorization of a compulsory license of Kaletra, putting the government one step toward's breaking the Abbot's patent monopoly. Press release | Download Word doc
    • FIX THE FUND! TREAT THE PEOPLE!Transparency and Accountability of Global Fund Financing in Kenya, Sharonann Lynch, Kibera, June 12 2005. Download Slide presentation
    • June 1, 2005 (Manhattan) UN Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS Becoming a Declaration of Betrayal; G7 Donors Must Act to Increase AIDS Funding and Treatment Access. At the opening of a high-level UN meeting on progress in implementation of the four-year-old "Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS," AIDS activists warned that countries are breaking their promises to scale up the response to global AIDS, and are not doing their part to meet the critical challenge laid out by the World Health Organization to ensure treatment access for 3 million people in developing countries by 2005. press advisory | Download Word doc | Health GAP press statement on the state of 3x5 and UNGASS
    • May 13, 2005 (Manhattan and Washington, DC) AIDS activists from Health GAP, Student Global AIDS Campaign, ACT UP New York, and Global AIDS Alliance urge Brazil to issue compulsory licenses on expensive patented antiretrovirals. Protestors deliver "spine" and memorandum to Brazil Mission to the UN in New York and to Embassy in Washington, DC. Press Release | Download press release | Civil society memorandum to the government of Brazil: Word | download Portugese
    • Bilateral Financing for ARV Treatment Programs: Promises, Pitfalls, and the Need for Change, Sharonann Lynch, Realising the Right to Health, Mumbai, India, 19 March 2005. Download Slide presentation
    • April 20, 2005 (Geneva) Health GAP delivers letter to Board Members of the Global Fund the Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Secretariat to Fix the Global Fund Now and address the ongoing crisis of delays in implementation of Global Fund financed HIV treatment programs. Download PDF
    • March 8, 2005 (Manhattan) Health GAP responds to UNAIDS shrinking its projections of resource needs for global AIDS by 2007 under pressure from donor countries. Health GAP Press Release
    • February 10, 2005 Health GAP responds to USTR fact sheet on the Central American Free Trade Agreement and access to medicines by issuing a "Myths and Realities" briefing paper focusing on U.S. pressure on Guatemala regarding the government's efforts to protect access to clinical data necessary for entry of affordable generic drugs to enter the market. Download PDF | Download Word doc | Download Spanish version
    • February 1, 2005 Health GAP fact sheet addresses the lies and myths on the "The Impact of India's Amended Patents Act on Access to Affordable HIV Treatment":
      • Myth: "The fear that prices of medicines will spiral is unfounded....We must realize the fact that 97% of all drugs manufactured in India are off-patent, and so will remain unaffected."
      • Myth: India's Patents Act amendments are an unavoidable consequence of India's obligations to protect product patents on medicines.
      • Myth: Patent protection in will stimulate investment into R&D that will benefit Indian consumers and will reward India with increased foreign investment.
      Download Fact Sheet
    • January 26, 2005 (New York) At a joint press conference at the opening of the World Economic Forum in Davos, WHO reported progress in the goal of reaching 3 million HIV positive people with combination anti-HIV treatment by the end of 2005, called "3 by 5". WHO was joined by UNAIDS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the U.S. bilateral AIDS program (PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).
      • Health GAP Reaction to WHO HIV Treatment Progress Report Press Release
      • G7 Inaction on Debt, Funding Harms Universal Access Press Release ">Press Release
      • Downlaod the "3 by 5" Progress report, December 2004 PDF
    • January 26, 2005 (New York) The announcement that Aspen Pharmacare of South Africa has received approval for co-packaged Lamivudine/Zidovudine and Nevirapine through the FDA fast-track marketing approval process represents a glimmer of progress in what still remains an unnecessary, duplicative, costly, delayed, and ultimately flawed U.S. review process.
      • Aspen's FDA Approval Weak Evidence of the Effectiveness of the FDA Expedited Approval Process Statement | Download Word doc
      • Statement of the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN), , comprised of Christian Health Associations and hospitals, non-profit drug supply organisations and church related development agencies, from 22 countries, on the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Press Statment| Download Word doc
    • January 13, 2005 (Mumbai, India) Health GAP, the Affordable Medicines and Treatment Campaign (AMTC) based in India, and a coalition of international activists hold a press conference to call on the Indian Government to repeal the patent law that introduced product patent protection on medicines through an Ordinance. One of the activists stated: "India should be proud to be producing and exporting cheap, generic AIDS drugs for people in need. The changes to the patent law will increase the price of new drugs, as well as some AIDS medicines that are already produced and exported in generic form..." Press Release

    Year 2004 Press Releases

    • December 12-15, 2004 India is in the process of amending its national patent law (the Patents Act) to come into compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules by January 1 2005. According to Health GAP, India is considering changes to its Patents Act that will block regular production of affordable generic versions of drugs to treat HIV, cancer, and other public health problems.
      • Health GAP and Médecins Sans Frontières host a teleconference for journalists: "Poor Countries' Source of Affordable Indian Generic AIDS Drugs to Disappear--Rising Drug Prices in India will Undermine HIV Treatment Scale-Up Efforts," December 15, 2004. Teleconference transcript: Read transcript online | Download Word | Download PDF | Press Advisory.
      • Health GAP Fact Sheet: Changes to India's Patents Act and Access to Affordable Generic Medicines after January 1, 2005. Download Fact Sheet: PDF file | Word doc
      • International sign-on letter of concern to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India regarding the government's proposed amendments to the Patents Act and undermining medicines access for people in need—in India and around the world, December 16, 2004. PDF file
      • On Monday Dec. 13, 1:00 PM, Activists demonstrate at the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC. Health GAP Press Release and Demo photos .
    • WORLD AIDS DAY, 2004 Take action this week to save the Global AIDS Fund! Download World AIDS Day Alert: PDF file
    • November 18, 2004 (Arusha, Tanzania) Health GAP today strongly condemned actions by the United States that have led to the postponement of lifesaving grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund, meeting this week in Arusha, Tanzania, was scheduled to announce a fifth round of grants during the meeting, but postponed receiving new proposals until March, 2005 with new awards being announced in September. Health GAP Press Release | Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria: What's at Stake at the Fund's Board Meeting in Arusha, November 18-19," November 2004: Download Fact Sheet
    • November 16, 2004 (Arusha) Over 150 AIDS activists and people living with HIV/AIDS from Kenya and other countries will be demonstrating outside the Arusha International Conference Center November 17, the start of the Global Fund's 9th Board Meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, to demand the immediate launch of the Global Fund's 5th Round of grants. Health GAP Press Release
    • November 2004 (Arusha) Health GAP Fact Sheet: "Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria: What's at Stake at the Fund's Board Meeting in Arusha, November 18-19," November 2004. Download Fact Sheet
    • October 13, 2004 (New York) Health GAP reacted to the announcement today by President Bush's Global AIDS Ambassador, Randall Tobias, that the Bush Administration will cut the US contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for 2004 by $69 million. Health GAP News Release
    • October 12, 2004 Internationl letter to Prime Minister of Thiland calling for an end to war against suspected drug users. Download letter (PDF)
    • October 6, 2004 (Moshi) Health GAP Presentation: "PEPFAR: Promises, Pitfalls, and the Need for Change," October 6, 2004. Download Power Point
    • September 23, 2004 (New York) Health GAP and Jubilee USA hold teleconference for journalists: "100% DEBT CANCELLATION FOR POOREST COUNTRIES NEEDED TO FIGHT AIDS." Media Advisory | Complete transcript of the teleconference call: Read oline | Download Word doc.
    • September 21, 2004 (New York) Health GAP statement issued following President George Bush's address to the United Nations. Health GAP Media Statement
    • September 01, 2004 (New York) The activist group that staged the first protest of the Republican National Convention by Òtelling the naked truth,Ó moved the issue of the Bush global AIDS policy to the forefront once again today. Members of the group ACT UP disrupted the speech of White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card to the Youth Convention at the Republican National Convention (RNC). Health GAP News Release
    • August 25, 2004 (New York) A group of HIV/AIDS activists, led by members of ACT UP New York told the naked truth about the Bush Administration's HIV/AIDS policies today. During a demonstration leading up to next week's Republic National Convention, several activists painted themselves with messages designed to expose the realities about the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the need for debt forgiveness for the world's poorest countries and the U.S. refusal to fully fund the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Health GAP/ACT UP News Release
    • August 03, 2004 (Philadelphia) The announcement of approval by the Food and Drug Administration of two drugs designed to be distributed as part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief will not significantly alter the landscape for treatment of millions of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world's poor nations. Health GAP News Release
    • July 30, 2004 (Philadelphia) Democratic candidate for President John Kerry missed an opportunity to outline his plans for fighting the greatest healthcare threat facing the world during his speech during the democratic convention. By relegating the fight against AIDS to a brief mention in one sentence during an hour-long speech, Kerry failed to the address the critical treatment needs of the 40 million people around the world living with HIV/AIDS. Health GAP Press Statement
    • June 22, 2004 (Washington) Bush's "HIV/AIDS and Compassion" Campaign Speech: Activists Counter U.S. Global AIDS Program' Dogmatic Restrictions are More Ideology, than Compassion--Teleconference ahead of Global Day of Bush Protest called by people with AIDS in Countries Receiving Bush AIDS Funds Read Discussion Paper Online
    • July 13, 2004 (Bangkok) The non-partisan U.S. Congressional agency charged with maintaining the accountability of government programs delivered a simple message to President George Bush this week: the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is not delivering on its promises. Health GAP Press Release
    • July 12, 2004 (Bangkok) Activists from around the world joined their Thai counterparts today putting leaders of the G-7 nations "on trial" for their lack of support for the Global Fund. The group displayed oversized portraits of the heads of state and listed the charges against the seven. Health GAP Press Release
    • July 4, 2004 (Bangkok) The Global Fund Board Takes a Resource Mobilization Vacation-- Next Round Would be Dominated by HIV Treatment Scale-Up Proposals but is a Fantasy Unless Donors Pay. At the 8th Board Meeting of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria June 28-30 in Geneva, donor countries who sit on the Board prevented the timely, fully financed launch of the next "Call for Proposals" for Global Fund financing--the 5th Round of grants. Health GAP Media Advisory
    • July 3-11, 2004 (Bangkok) Thai and U.S. AIDS Treatment Activists Demand Accountability and Action on Global AIDS at the XV International AIDS Conference--People with HIV demand real "Access for All" at Opening Day March. People living with HIV/AIDS and AIDS activists address discuss key policy issues regarding access to affordable treatment and comprehensive, science based prevention ahead of the XV International AIDS Conference scheduled for 11 July -16 July in Bangkok. The activists are holding a global protest and march on the opening day of the conference to demand accountability from heads of states, agencies, and individuals obstructing or failing to effectively address the gaps and inequities in HIV/AIDS treatment access, and demand real access for all. Coalition Media Advisory | (Bangkok) Thai Treatment Activists Join US Group in Announcing Plans for XV International AIDS Conference Protest Media Statement | Thai and International Activists Plan Protest at International AIDS Conference. March and Rally to be held. Health GAP Press Release
    • May 28, 2004 (Washington) In reaction to today's signing of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the AIDS activist group Health GAP criticized the agreement for threatening access to affordable, life-saving generic drugs in the region. CAFTA is a trade agreement between the U.S. and five Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. Health GAP Media Release
    • May 20, 2004 (Washington) "WAKE UP. TIMES UP" TO CANDIDATES, LEADERS: NEARLY 60,000 IN USA WITHOUT AIDS DRUGS; DELAYS COSTING LIVES IN GLOBAL EPIDEMIC. A coalition of AIDS groups hold a demonstration of at least a thousand people living with HIV, family members and providers of AIDS prevention and treatment services, descending in Washington DC for an election-year march and civil disobedience including over 100 people. A full set of information, demands and background documents related to the May 20 demonstration are posted at: www.housingworks.org. Coalition Media Release
    • May 18, 2004 (Philadelphia) Health GAP releases comparison of US Presidential Candidates: Contrasting Platforms on AIDS by issue: Funding for global AIDS programs, Prevention policies, Trade policy and generic drugs, Debt Relief, AIDS treatment, Family planning and the global gag rule , US ban against HIV+ immigrants, Orphans. Download Word doc
    • May 17, 2004 (Washington) New F.D.A. Program to Approve AIDS Drugs for Poor Countries: Cover for Shutting Out Generics in U.S. Bilateral Program? Health GAP reacts to U.S. anouncement of a FDA program for accelerated review of generic and brand-name AIDS drugs financed by the Bush's AIDS program, Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Rather than a good faith effort by the U.S. to support the international consensus that already endorses procurement of quality assured generic products through the WHO prequalification project, activists say this new program is designed to shield the Administration from criticism while creating significant new hurdles for generic producers. Health GAP Media Release
    • May 4, 2004 Health GAP discussion paper: "USTR's 2004 Special 301 Report Highlights the U.S. Global Ambition to Use Heightened Protection of Innovators' Drug Registration Data to Block and Delay Registration of Competing Generic Drugs." The office of the United States Trade Representative issued its 2004 Special 301 Report on May 3, 2004. Despite protestations in multiple contexts that the USTR is not initiating trade policies that undermine developing countries' flexibility to access affordable medicines for all, the Special Report contains damning admissions of an intellectual property agenda designed to pursue the interests of the proprietary pharmaceutical industry not matter what the cost in human lives. The U.S. campaign for escalating intellectual property protections, and its corresponding attack on public health, is broad in geographical scope and increasingly focused on preventing registration of generic medicines. Download Word doc
    • April 6, 2004 (Manhattan) Health GAP response to Clinton Foundation, GFATM, UNICEF, and World Bank announcement of support for WHO prequalified generic ARVs in face of Bush anti-generics PEPFAR policy. Health GAP Press Release
    • March 29, 2004 (Washington, DC) AIDS activists arrested at PhRMA's Washington DC headquarters while protesting Bush's assault on generic AIDS medicines. The action took place during the opening day of a U.S. initiated conference in Botswana on the safety and efficacy of WHO prequalified generic antiretrovrials and fixed-dose combination (FDCs). Health GAP Press Release
    • March 26, 2004 (Manhattan) Health GAP statement released ahead of the U.S.-initiated meeting in Botswana on safety and efficacy of 3 in one pills, or FDCs. The Bush Administration faces mounting criticism from the domestic and international community, including European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) refusal to attend the conference. Health GAP Press Release
    • March 26, 2004 (Manhattan) Health GAP note to editors with background information and links to mounting proof against Bush administration's false claims against quality, safety, and efficacy of WHO prequalified generics and 3 in one pills, or FDCs. Health GAP Note to Editors
    • March 26, 2004 385 U.S. and international organizations call upon U.S. "to ensure that programs use the most affordable medicines available, and accept the current drug quality standards of World Health Organization's drug prequalification program," in a letter to Randall Tobias, 26 March 2004 Read Online | Download letter
    • March 25, 2004 (New York) Health GAP and Doctors without Borders teleconference: IGNORING LIVES TO PROTECT PHARMA PROFIT? Bush Plan to Block Use of Affordable, Effective, Quality Generic AIDS Medicines. Media Advisory | Transcript
    • March 22, 2004 Health GAP Briefing Paper: "U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Facts and Critical Issues" Download PDF
    • February 23, 2004 (Washington, DC) Health GAP claims Candidate Bush is AWOL on AIDS and criticizes the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for undermining its own program with funding contributions far below those promised, and spending years to set up a new bureaucracy for a new bilateral program while underfunding the cash-strapped Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Health GAP Press Release
    • February 11, 2004 An article by Health GAP member: "The Bush Administration's Global AIDS PromisesÑand Praxis." Download PDF
    • January 20, 2004 (New Hampshire) Health GAP responds to Bush's State of Union Address: Bush AIDS plan after 1 year = 3 million AIDS deaths and zero results while Democratic Candidates pledge to double contributions and support multilateral Global AIDS Fund. Health GAP Press Release
    • An Analysis and Response to WTO Action Regarding Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, by Brook Baker for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Project, Task Force 5: Infectious Diseases and Access to Essential Medicines, Sub-Group Access to Essential Medicines, January, 27, 2005. Issue Paper | Download Word doc

    Year 2003 Press Releases

    • December 17, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP: Sick people lose out in U.S.-Central American trade deal finalized today as the U.S. won most measures to protect U.S. drug companies at the expense of public health. Health GAP Press Release
      "Arthritic Flexibilities for Accessing Medicines: Analysis of WTO Action Regarding Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health," Brook Baker of Health GAP, December 16, 2004. Download Word doc
    • December 10, 2003 Health GAP briefing paper: "THREAT OF COMPULSORY LICENSES AT THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMPETITION COMMISSION RESULTS IN GENERIC LICENSES FOR AIDS MEDICINES." The Competition Commission in South Africa announced concessionary a voluntary licensing agreement with GSK (and another pending with Boehringer-Ingelheim), won as a result of a complaint the Treatment Action Campaign and others had filed in at the Commission more than a year ago on September 19, 2002. That case, as discussed further below, challenged monopoly pricing practices of the two pharmaceutical giants, pricing that created a gaping chasm in access to live-saving medicines. Read online | Download Word doc
    • December 9, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP on Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) final negotations in Washington, DC: White House pushes for more drug company protectionism in Central America. Health GAP Press Release | Health GAP Fact Sheet: The Central America Free Trade Agreement, Access to AIDS Medicines, and Intellectual Property: Word doc | Transcript of Journalist Teleconference with Health GAP and experts & activists from Central America: Word doc | Read Online | ACT UP stages protest during CAFTA negotations, 9 AIDS activsts are arrested blocking traffic and storming meeting location: ACT UP Press Release, Pictures
    • December 8, 2003 Health GAP's critique of critique of the behind the scenes machinations of the Bush Administration: U.S.'s Misguided and Bad-Faith Attack on the WHO's 3-by-5 Plan. Read Online | Download doc
    • November 28, 2003 Health GAP on Bush, the 2004 Presidential Candidates, and WHO ahead of World AIDS Day, 2003: WHO and Other Presidential Candidates take up the Reigns on global AIDS fight, while Bush denies cheap drugs to the poor. Press Release
    • November 20, 2003 (Washington, DC) Activists March on White House with "President Pinocchio" Effigy: Protesters decry underfunding of AIDS fight and attacks on effective programs and research, demand AIDS plan for U.S., world from all Presidential Candidates. Health GAP and coalition release Year in Review Report. Press Release | Year in Review Report: Word | pdf
    • November 19, 2003 (Miami) Health GAP warns access to generic AIDS drugs goes from bad to worse as FTAA negotiations progress and the USTR pushes protectionist policies for the US pharmaceutical industry. Press Release and Fact Sheet | Health GAP Briefing Paper: Word | pdf
    • November 11, 2003 (Washington) Health GAP on "FTAA and Protectionism for U.S. Drug Industry: Affordable AIDS Medicine Threatened in Latin America." Download: Word doc | PDF file
    • November 6, 2003 (Manhattan) Responding to the bill amending the Patent Act introduced today by the Canadian governmen Health GAP warns problems in draft patent act language will reverse Canada's progress on access to cheap generic drug exports. Press Release | Briefing Paper
    • October 27, 2003 (Manhattan) A year after an international advocacy campaign aimed at winning HIV/AIDS treatment for workers of multinational corporations in Africa, AIDS activists contend that Coca-Cola continues to stall rolling out treatment programs with its bottlers in Africa. Read Online | Download doc
    • October 20, 2003 Health GAP ACTION ALERT: Canada recently announced that it intended to change its patent act in order to implement an August 30, 2003 WTO agreement that would permit export of generic versions of patented medicines from Canada to countries that lack the capacity to make their own. The August 30 agreement came after more than 20 months of WTO negotiations, with pressure from the U.S., EU, and big pharma companies on poor countries preventing quick passage of an easy to use, economically viable solution. Health GAP Action Alert
    • October 23, 2003 (Manhattan) Health GAP reacts to Clinton Foundation announcement generic AIDS drugs deal: $150 a Year. Press Releases
    • October 19, 2003 (Bangkok) Health GAP and Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (TNP+) warn against restrictive bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. which jeopardizes access to affordable generic medicines in Thailand. Press Releases
    • October 17, 2003 Canada efforts at reforming patent legislation to allow for export of generic drugs to poor countries is jeopardized. Health GAP suspects backroom pressure from USTR and drug companies, as Canada considers unnecessarily restricting the range of generic drugs to be exported to poor countries. Press Releases
    • October 17, 2003 South African Competition Commission announces stunning victory for access to cheaper drugs, holds GlaxoSmithKline and Boehringer Ingelheim responsible for excessive pricing and other anti-competitive practices. Press Releases
    • October 16, 2003 (Chiang Mai) Health GAP on the results of the third round of "The Incredible Shrinking Global Fund" grant disbursements: Less $$, Less AIDS Treatment, Less Participation of People with AIDS. Press Releases
    • October 13, 2003 (Bangkok) Global Fund to Fight AIDS Neglected by Rich Countries. The Fund the Fund campaign and international organisations, AIDS activists, call for funding for AIDS treatment and effective prevention programs from Japan, U.S., Australia, other countries. Press Releases
    • October 8, 2003 "Briefing Paper on U.S. Obstructionism and amendment to Canada's Legislation Enabling Export of Generic Medicines," Brook Baker of Health GAP, October 03. Download: Read Online
    • October 1, 2003 Joint statement on Canada's efforts to amend the Patent Act to increase access to generic medicines. Go to statement
    • September 29, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP and a coalition of AIDS organizations raise concerns in anticipation of ex-Phrma CEO Randall Tobias' confirmation as head of Bush's AIDS plan. Press Statement | Health GAP's questions of Randall Tobias: Go to questions
    • September 22, 2003 (New York City) Health GAP reacts to WHO announcement at UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS Press Releases
    • September 22, 2003 (Nairobi) Joint NGO statement during ICASA (International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa) on lack of progress in meeting UN goals in fighting AIDS and government commitments. Press Releases
    • September 22, 2003 (New York City) An open letter from NGOS to heads of state of OECD countries on honoring commitments in the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. Press Releases
    • September 15, 2003 (Cancun) Health GAP on the end of the Cancun Ministerial: WTO talks collapse, but poor countries still have to contend with a flawed deal on generic medicines access. Press Statement
    • September 11, 2003 (Cancun) Health GAP and ACT UP Paris on WTO's "solution" on cheap generic medicines posing new barriers to access. Press Statement
    • September 13, 2003 (Cancun) Health GAP on WTO medicines deal: Lamy and Zoellick clash over terms of new WTO medicines deal. Press Statement
    • September 10, 2003 (Cancun) Joint NGO Statement on TRIPS and Public Health: WTO deal on medicines--a gift bound in red tape. Press Statement
    • September 3, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP on money for global AIDS: Frist's Trip to Africa Yields More Excuses on AIDS Spending. Senate Must Act to Fund Promised $3 Billion -- with at least $1 billion for the Global Fund. Press Statement
    • August 28, 2003 Health GAP warns that the Bush Administration, Big Pharma about to secure disastrous "solution" on access to medicines at the WTO. In effort to boost failing pre-Cancun talks, countries are poised for sell-out on public health. Press Statement
    • August 27, 2003 Health GAP reaction to Senator Frist's trip to Africa and sabotage of money for global AIDS. Read letter to the editor
    • July 2, 2003 Joint NGO letter to Bush calling for exclusion of intellectual property from negotiations over a U.S.- Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Free Trade Agreement. Read the letter
    • Health GAP on the new WTO deal on medicines and the right to export medicines: "Clarifying Questions about Coverage," Brook Baker of Health GAP, 27 September 03. Read Online
    • Health GAP on WTO medicines negotiations and the right to export medicines: "The incredible shrinking Doha Declaration," Brook Baker of Health GAP, 26 August 03. Read Online
    • Health GAP on WTO medicines negotiations and the right to export medicines: "Vows of Poverty, Shrunken Markets, Burdensome Manufacturing and Other Nonsense at the WTO," Brook Baker of Health GAP, 27 September 03. Read Online
    • July 2, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP criticizes Bush's announcement of Randy Tobias as head of the Bush AIDS program. Press Statement
    • July 2, 2003 Joint NGO letter to Bush calling for exclusion of intellectual property from negotiations over a U.S.- Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Free Trade Agreement. Read the letter
    • June 20, 2003 (Evian) Health GAP on pledges announced during the EU Summit: "World Leaders Preen over Future Pledges to Fight AIDS while Cash-Strapped Global Health Fund Prepares to Turn Away Grant Requests. Activists Call on Bush to Make Good on $1 billion Promise Before Trip to Africa Press Statement
    • June 3, 2003 (Geneva) At the G8 Summit Health GAP releases "The AIDS Crisis and the Evian Summit: The Group of Seven Deadly Dwarves Strike Again" Read online | Download PDF
    • June 2, 2003 (Evian) Health GAP criticizes new donations announced at the G8 Summit, claiming numbers game undercuts the needs of the Global AIDS Fund, calls for USD $4.7 billion to fully fund the Fund. Press Statement
    • June 2, 2003 (Geneva) Health GAP on G8's Health, Trade "Action" Plans: Blowing hot air in Evian while people with AIDS die. NGOs reveal US action to weaken France's earlier draft on access to medicines and financing of the Global Fund. Press Statement
    • June 1, 2003 (Evian) Health GAP on the opening of the G8 Summit: "G7 Donors Agree: Time for More Empty Posturing on Global AIDS Crisis" Press Statement
    • May 27, 2003 (Geneva) At the 56th World Health Assembly, Health GAP applauds new WHO mandate for 3 million on AIDS drugs in developing countries by 2005, condemns G7 for refusing to pay for it. Statement and "myth and facts" sheet on Bush's global AIDS bill. Press Statement and Fact Sheet
    • May 21, 2003 (Geneva) Health GAP, Médecins Sans Frontières, ACT UP Paris, and OXFAM respond to US proposal on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), Innovation and Public Health at the 56th World Health Assembly. Press Statement
    • May 21, 2003 (Geneva) Health GAP commends new WHO Director General's announcement to provide AIDS treatment to 3 Million people living with HIV/AIDS by 2005. Press Statement and Fact Sheet
    • Health GAP Briefing Paper to WHO: "Scaling-up antiretroviral treatment and financing the fight against global AIDS: IPRs, access to medicines and public health," May 19, 2003. Read online | Download Word doc
    • May 16, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP's mixed reaction to five-year global AIDS bill authorizing up to $3 billion for FY 2004. Press Statement
    • May 15, 2003 (New York) Health GAP and Fund the Fund reporteres conference call on money for the GFATM and treatment scale-up opportunities. Press Advisory
    • May 2, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP's letter to Tommy Thompson on his position of Chair of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. Read Online | Download PDF
    • April 29, 2003 (Washington, DC) Health GAP calls for House of Representatives to support at least $1 billion of $3 billion in authorizing legislation for Global Fund. Press Statement
    • April 2, 2003 Today the House International Relations Committee, Chaired by Representative Henry Hyde, voted on a bill that authorizes $3 billion dollars a year for each of the next five years to fight Global AIDS. The bill earmarks at least $1 billion for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Press Release
    • March 31, 2003 (Paris) A coalition of AIDS advocacy organisations announce the launch of "Fund the Fund," a campaign to pressure governments of wealthy countries to contribute urgently needed resources to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria (GFATM). Press Release
    • January 10, 2003 (Washington, DC) AIDS activists on Bush Administration delegation to the African Growth and Opportunity Act Summit. Press Release

    Year 2002 Press Releases

    • December 20, 2002 Thanks to U.S. bullying, no deal this year on access to medicines at the WTO Poor countries prevent U.S. re-write of Doha agreement on public health. U.S. trade negotiators have left WTO empty handed on the issue of exported versions of affordable generic medicines, despite stubborn efforts by Bush Administration officials to push through a deal Health GAP called friendly to U.S. pharmaceutical companies, but worse for poor countries than no deal at all. Press Statement
    • December 20, 2002 (Washington, DC) Health GAP reaction to Bush's postponement of first trip to Africa. Press Statement
    • December 16, 2002 Letter to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on problems developing countries face in making use of provisions in the TRIPS Agreement that allow for the production and export of affordable essential medicines. Press Statement
    • December 10, 2002WTO Trade Phrma's relentless drive for profits explains U.S. trade negotiations on the right to export generic versions of medicines. HGAP White Paper
    • December 4, 2002 (Washington, DC) Health GAP Sign-on letter to Robert B. Zoellick, US Trade Representative, on the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement's threat to public health and access to medicines . Read Letter
    • November 28, 2002 (Washington, DC) Health GAP and 300 NGOs from across the United States and from every continent call for the launch of a bold global AIDS initiative ahead of Bush's scheduled trip to Africa, scheduled for January 13-17. Press Statement
    • November 26, 2002 (Washington D.C.) 31 arrested at White House. 1,000 Protesters demand bold presidential action to stop spread of AIDS. Health GAP and ACT UP Press Statement
    • November 20, 2002 (Abuja) U.S.-sponsored meeting could jeopardize access to medicines. Advocates join Nigerian organizations in call for greater involvement of public health experts, consumers, people living with HIV/AIDS in writing crucial intellectual property bill. Health GAP and ACT UP Paris Press Statement
    • November 15, 2002 (Washington, DC) GLOBAL AIDS PRESS CONFERENCE CALL: WITH GLOBAL FUND CHIEF RICHARD FEACHEM, JEFFREY SACHS, HEALTH GAP and RESULTS. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Director Richard Feachem will discuss the fund's cash crunch and funding gap for the next two years. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University will discuss the global and U.S. funding picture and along with U.S. activists, will announce a worldwide call on President Bush for a Presidential AIDS Initiative on global prevention, treatment, and access to medicines. Press Advisory
    • November 14, 2002 Health GAP on Doha Plus One: Bush Administration poised to break promises on patents and access to medicines at WTO 'mini-Ministerial' At the start of the WTO's informal Ministerial meeting in Sydney, AIDS activists called on US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to stop undermining the agreement reached in Doha to widen poor countries' access to cheap, generic medicines. Press Statement
    • August 12, 2002 (Manhattan) The AIDS activist groups ACT UP and Health GAP, who have been leading campaigns demanding multinational corporations like Coca Cola for AIDS treatment for African employees, offered provisional support for today's announcement from De Beers Consolidated Mines, and Anglo-American's recent announcement, committing the companies to treating its HIV positive workers. Activists announce a Global Day of Protest against corporations denying AIDS drugs. Press Statement
    • July 10, 2002 (Barcelona) AIDS activists protest Coke's deadly neglect of workers with AIDS in developing countries. Groups call for "Global Day of Action"—coordinated protests in the US, EU, Africa and southeast Asia. Press Statement
    • JULY 8, 2002 (Barcelona) Health GAP and ACT UP press for a plan to back up WHO's most recent analysis of their Accelerating Access Initiative and its announcement of support for scaling up treatment access to get HIV treatment to 3 million people in the developing world by 2005. Press Statement
    • JULY 7, 2002 (Barcelona) MSF and Health GAP accused wealthy nations of willful neglect that is costing millions of lives. Before a joint satellite meeting called "Time to Treat," activists focused attention on the failure of most governments to deliver on promises of lower cost antiretroviral treatment, particularly the world's wealthiest nations who have failed to fund the fight against AIDS. This represents an enormous political failure on the part of developing and rich country governments. Press Statement
    • 30 JUNE 2002 (New York) AIDS Activists Target Coca-Cola at New York Gay Pride Parade to demand Coke pay for AIDS drugs for workers in poor countries. ACT UP New York Press Release
    • JUNE 27, 2002 Health GAP reviews U.S. proposal for WTO rules on exporting generic version of patented drugs. The production-for-export specifications pressed by the U.S. seek to narrow the scope of the production-for-export solution promised at Doha. Health GAP Paper
    • JUNE 27, 2002 (Geneva) AIDS activists monitoring the development of the second Guidelines for Proposals document for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria submit revisions to the Fund's Board of Directors. Activists claim the current draft fails to address glaring errors in the first call for proposals. Lack of clarity in the original Guidelines for Proposals played a part in assuring that only a handful of applications would request and be granted money for HIV treatment programs. Open Letter to the Global Fund Secretariat
    • JUNE 19, 2002 (Washington, DC) AIDS activists protest Bush at record-breaking Republican fundraiser. Activists denounced the global AIDS plan President Bush which announced this morning in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. They chanted that the plan was a hoax, as no new money was being proposed for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Press Statement
    • JUNE 17, 2002 (Washington, DC) AIDS activists hold rally against President Bush recycling damaged goods in lead up to G8 meeting: NO NEW MONEY, NO DRUGS FOR FAMILIES WITH AIDS. Activists denounce Bush sabotaging a bipartisan effort that would have made a substantial new U.S. contribution in 2002 to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Press Advisory
    • JUNE 17, 2002 Health GAP paper on President Bush's actions to derail a bipartisan Senate effort that had been expected to net at least $500 million in emergency funds for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. "Sen. Frist's Bait And Switch And The Bush Unfund"
    • JUNE 12, 2002 (Manhattan) ACT UP New York crash Global Business Council gala to demand Coca-Cola and other multinational corporations pay for treatment for workers living with HIV/AIDS. Activists disrupt ceremong, attended by Kofi Annan, Bill Clinton, and other dignataria by land, and by sea. Press Statement
    • MAY 2002 Health GAP launches a campaign against Coca-Cola for refusing to pay for AIDS treatment for its vast African workforce. Health GAP Position Paper
    • MAY 24, 2002 (Harare) Zimbabwe's Minister of Justice, P. A. Chinamasa declared a Period of Emergency in order to override antiretroviral drug patents. The declaration is effective for six months. Medicins Sans Frontieres estimates that this action will lower the price of a first-line triple therapy from US$1,168 to $412. NGO Statements: Treatment Action Campaign (SA) | Health GAP | : Médecins Sans Frontières
    • 15 MAY 2002 (DC) The Kerry/Frist Bill authorizes a $1 billion increase in U.S. spending for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in 2003. The United States will need to contribute far more to the Global Fund for 2004 than what is currently contained in this bill. Press statement
    • May 6, 2002 Health GAP calls on the Brazilian Ministry of Health to revise immediately its policies and begin permitting the purchase of Brazil1s antiretrovrials by Central and South American countries. Letter to Brazil Ministry of Health
    • 24 APRIL 2002 (DC) US Congress likely to approve major new contribution to Global Fund to fight AIDS TB and Malaria. US Senators Specter and Durbin are correcting the damage done to the Global Fund when President Bush made paltry inaugural donation of $200 million last year. By setting the entry bar for all donors so low, the White House hobbled the fund at its launch. Press statement
    • 17 APRIL 2002 (Manhattan) AIDS activists target Coca-Cola's annual shareholder meeting for refusing HIV/AIDS treatment for workers and their dependents in Africa. Coke's policy excludes all but the smallest fraction of African employees with access to treatment. Rally press advisory | Health GAP Floor Statements
    • 10 APRIL 2002 (Washington, DC) Hundreds of activists, Danny Glover, members of Congress rally against global AIDS disaster declaring time is up for Congressional action. Activists demand Congress: Donate the Dollars, Treat the People, and Drop the Debt. Rally Sponsors: ACT UP, Health GAP, Jubilee USA Network, Artists for a New South Africa. rally photos | rally photos
    • 10 APRIL 2002 (Geneva) Health GAP comments regarding the inclusion of antiretrovirals (ARVs) and the WHO process for updating the model list of essential drugs (EDL). The WHO Model List of Essential Drugs is updated every two years. The next meeting of the expert Committee will be held on 15-19 April 2002 at WHO Headquarters in Geneva. Health GAP comments
    • JANUARY 28, 2002 (Geneva) NGOs present views on issue of exports of medical technologies under the WTO TRIPS rules for patents to members of the TRIPS Council. Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health instructed the Council for TRIPS to find a "solution" to difficulties in using compulsory licenses when countries have insufficient or no manufacturing capacity. Joint letter from Consumer Project on Technology, Essential Action, Medicines Sans Frontieres, Oxfam International, Health GAP Coalition, and the Third World Network to the World Trade Organization's TRIPS Council. NGO Letter on Compulsory Licensing and Exports
    Year 2001 Press Releases
    • 11 NOVEMBER 2001 (Doha) "TRIPS: will the majority prevail?" NGO Statement on Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health Act-Up Paris, Consumer Project on Technology, Consumers International, Health GAP Coalition, Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, Tebtebba Foundation, Third World Network. Joint NGO Statement
    • 19 OCTOBER 2001 U.S. refusal to break monopoly on Cipro dramatizes health risk of U.S. hard-line on patent protection--at home and in AIDS-devastated poor countries. Read Health GAP Press Statement
    • (New York) 22 AUGUST 2001 Health GAP applauds Brazil action and demands the US administration stop blocking countries' life-saving strategies. Activists condemn unfair trade agreements and USTR extremist positions at WTO meetings on intellectual property issues and medicines. Health GAP Press Statement
    • (Cape Town) 21 AUGUST 2001 South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) opens lawsuit against the government demanding urgent steps to reduce mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS. TAC calls on international allies to support this action and to pressure any and all representatives of the South African government abroad. Solidarity Statement from Health GAP Coalition
    • (Washington, DC) 21 MAY 2001 AIDS activists and debt cancellation advocates question the Bush administration commitment to fighting AIDS and lifting the debt burden as Secretary of State Colin Powell leaves for tour of African countries impacted by HIV/AIDS Joint Press Release
    • (Geneva) 18 MAY 2001 After Underfunding UN AIDS Trust Fund, Bush Administration Colludes With Drug Industry to Block AIDS Medication and Care Proposals at World Health Assembly. Health GAP Press Release
    • (Geneva) 15 MAY 2001 At the World Health Assembly public interest NGOs demand that the Global Health Fund meets poor countries' needs, not those of industry. Guidelines for the fund were propsed by HAI, Health GAP, ACT UP Paris, and Oxfam UK. Joint Press Release
    • 12 APRIL 2001 (Minneapolis) AIDS Treatment advocates submit letters to the President of University of Minnesota urging the University take the necessary steps to allow generic manufacture and/or importation of abacavir in each of the poor countries where current abacavir patent monopolies are blocking drug access. Abacavir, developed by the university is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline as Ziagen. Letter from Health GAP
    • 10 APRIL 2001 (Washington D.C.) AIDS activists join unions "Fair Trade" coalition in denouncing the Bush Administration's secretive negotiation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) because it will reduce access to affordable generic versions of essential HIV/AIDS medication, and threaten health care across the Western Hemisphere, including Brazil's succesful access strategies. Press Release
    • 09 APRIL 2001 (San Francisco) ACT UP-East Bay, advocates, and official of the Brazilian Consulate meet with the press to defend Brazil's use of the legal mechanism of "compulsory licensing" in the face of lawsuitss and pressure by the U.S. Government. Press Release
    • 08 MARCH 2001 (Philadelphia) ACT UP Philadelphia announces demonstration at PhRMA headquarters in Washington DC on March 12 to protest the lawsuit against South Africa's Medicines Act and the industry-induced trial delay. Press Advisory
    • 05 MARCH 2001 Activists, advocates, and labor federations demand the pharmaceutical industry drop the lawsuit against Nelson Mandela and the South African government over the Medicines Act. The groups condemn industry for obstructing access to AIDS and essential medicines in South Africa and demand AIDS treatments worldwide. ACT UP New York Press release | ACT UP Philadelphia Press release
    • 01 MARCH 2001 Activists, advocates, and labor federations demand the pharmaceutical industry drop the lawsuit against Nelson Mandela and the South African government over the Medicines Act. The groups condemn industry for obstructing access to AIDS and essential medicines in South Africa and demand AIDS treatments worldwide. ACT UP New York Press release | ACT UP Philadelphia Press release
    • 01 MARCH 2001 (Washington DC) The Health GAP Coalition demands President Bush publicly repudiate the lawsuit against South Africa's Medicines Act and state support for South Africa's right to use legal measure to ensure access to affordable medication. Letter to George W. Bush
    • 21 FEBRUARY 2001 (New York City) AIDS activists take over GlaxoSmithKline investor relations office to expose compnay-wide policy of blocking generic AIDS drug acess. Read ACT UP press release
    • 3 FEBRUARY 2001 (Chicago) Global Coalition of AIDS Activists call on GlaxoSmithKline to withdraw threatened lawsuits in Ghana, Uganda, and South Africa which are intended to block people with AIDS in those countries from having access to generic anti-AIDS medications. Read press release and letter to GSK
    • 01 FEBRUARY 2001 SIGN-ON LETTER: Activists condemn the pharmaceutical industry's attempt to derail the implementation of South Africa's Medicines Act. The letter calls for the plaintiffs to pull out of the lawsuit against the South African government immediately. Read the Sign-On Letter
    • 29 JANUARY 2001 (Washington) Essential Action and the Consumer Project on Technology submit comments to the U.S. Trade Representative regarding the proposed U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) focusing on intellectual property provisions relating to access to medicines and compulsory licensing. Read online | Download PDF file

    Year 2000 Press Releases

    • 1 DECEMBER 2000 Health GAP releases press statement: Glaxo SmithKline Snatches Drugs from Poor Ghanaians with AIDS. Jean-Pierre Garier, CEO "Makes a Difference" through Lies and Drug Profiteering. Press Statement

    • 30 NOVEMBER 2000 (Philadelphia) People with AIDS Protest at World's Largest Drug Company (Glaxo SmithKline) & Party Office(s) of Next US President, Casting Votes for Debt Cancellation, Generic Drug Access on "World AIDS Crisis" Ballot. ACT UP Philadelphia Press Release.
    • 29 NOVEMBER 2000 (New York) Health GAP Coalition releases World AIDS Day Report Card: Has Access to Life-Saving AIDS Medicines improved in poor countries? Read online or download the PDF file.
    • 4 NOVEMBER 2000 (Glenside, Pennsylvania)AIDS activists disrupt George Bush's rally. Cite life-threatening barriers to AIDS drugs in Texas; Condemn "Bush AIDS disaster" Read Press Release

    • 10 OCTOBER 2000 AIDS Activists to target Bush on Mass Protest. Activists charge unlucky Candidate Bush with "Texas AIDS Disaster"; Bush's ties to drug industry "deadly" for millions denied affordable generic AIDS drugs. Read Press Advisory | Press Statement

    • 20 SEPTEMBER 2000 (Media, Pennsylvania) AIDS ACTIVISTS DISRUPT George W. Bush'S RALLY: Condemn Bush plans to reverse Clinton/Gore Executive Order on global AIDS crisis; citing horrendous record on health and AIDS in Texas. ACT UP Press release
    • 7 SEPTEMBER 2000 (New York City) ACT UP New York Press Release: At Pfizer's world headquarters in Manhattan, activists demand life-saving drugs for poor countries. ACT UP protests United Nations "bluewashing" Pfizer's public image despite killer price-gouging. ACT UP Press release
    • 09 JULY 2000 (Durban) Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Health Gap deliver MEMORANDUM at end of the Global AIDS March Global Manifesto to Save 34 Million Lives: Measures Needed to Rapidly Expand Access to Essential Treatments for HIV/AIDS. Read the memo online | Download Memorandum
    • 25 MAY 2000 (Durban) Joint Statement: TAC and & the XIII International AIDS Conference: The Treatment Action Campaign march against pharmaceutical giants and governments - planned to coincide with the opening day of the 13th International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa in July, will be peaceful and legal. The march has been endorsed by trade unions and many local and international organisations.
    • 20 MAY 2000 (Geneva) ACT UP Statement: Limited Victory Emerges from World Health Assembly. Delegations from Zimbabwe, Swaziland and other developing nations to the 53rd World Health Assembly withstood an intense pressure campaign from wealthy nations over proposals that would lead to improved, sustainable access to generic versions of AIDS medicines.
    • 11 MAY 2000: AIDS activists campaigning for affordable access to life extending AIDS treatments met announcement of a "joint agreement" between UNAIDS and major AIDS drug manufactures with deep skepticism.Read ACT UP Philadelphia press release
    • 09 MAY 2000 ACT UP PRESS RELEASE : CLINTON TO SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDER: ACCESS TO HIV/AIDS PHARMACEUTICALS FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA WILL NOT BE IMPEDED BY ANY U.S. DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY. Read Online | Download Word Document
    • 04 MAY 2000 PFIZER Announces Diflucan Donation Program. Activists and organizations call for a long-term strategy. ACT UP
    • 04 MAY 2000 ACT UP PRESS RELEASE : ACT UP and Student Activists Disrupt House of Representatives Vote on African/Caribbean Trade Bill. Activists Chain Themselves to House Gallery chairs & chant "AFRICA IS NOT FOR SALE" Read Online | Download Word Document
    • 22 MARCH 2000 ACT UP PRESS STATEMENT : The bill, "African Growth and Opportunity Act," is before the US Congress. While against the bill, ACT UP is in support of Senator Feinstein's amendment which precludes US trade sanctions against African countries that manufacture generic versions of expensive drugs. The amendment is under fierce attack by pharmaceutical industry lobbyists. Read Statement | Download Word Document
    • 13 MARCH 2000 Organizations and Activists release statements in support Treatment Action Campaign's efforts against Pfizer's pricing and patent policies. ACT UP Philadelphia | IGLHRC

    Year 1999 Press Releases

    • 18 JUNE 1999 (New York) ACT UP PRESS RELEASE : AIDS ACTIVISTS HIT AL GORE THREE TIMES IN TWO DAYS Shouting "Gore kills Africans," blowing whistles and waving signs and banners demanding "AIDS drugs for Africa," about a dozen AIDS activists stunned United States Vice President Al Gore at each of his first three stops to officially kick off his presidential campaign. At his first announcement of his candidacy in Carthage, Tennessee, on Wednesday, June 16th, and then in Manchester, New Hampshire, and New York, New York, on Thursday, June 17th, AIDS activists demanded that Gore and the Clinton administration reverse their policy of denying life-saving drugs to Africans and others around the world with AIDS. Read Online
    • 17 JUNE 1999 (New Hampshire) ACT UP PRESS RELEASE : GORE STUMPING DISRUPTED FOR SECOND TIME. AIDS activists took over Vice President Al Gore's second campaign stop this morning in Manchester, New Hampshire. The activists were protesting Gore's instrumental role in preventing AIDS medications from reaching people in developing countries, including South Africa and Thailand. Read Online | Download Word Document
    • June 16, 1999 AIDS activists disrupt Al Gore's announcement of presidential candidacy: Protestors from "AIDS Drugs for Africa" demand global access to anti-HIV drugs and an end to Vice-President's bullying of South Africa. Press Release



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