(Evian, June 2, 2003) AIDS activists reacted today to the release of the G8's action plan on health and on trade. "Thanks in large part to the U.S., the G8's plans show a profound commitment to inaction when it comes to fighting AIDS and increasing access to affordable medicines," said Asia Russell of Health GAP. "With 6 million of the 42 million people living with HIV facing unnecessary death because they cannot afford life-sustaining medicines, and the G7's own Global Fund nearly bankrupt, the world's wealthiest countries have once again refused to use this meeting to spend the money and to support the policies needed to win a war against global AIDS."

The U.S. weakened earlier French drafts of the Health Plan in the key areas of access to essential medicines and financing the Global Fund. The U.S., while recently announcing a new bilateral AIDS program, has at the same time been opposing efforts to increase access to low-cost, generic medicines at the WTO and in emerging regional trade agreements.

On resources and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria: The Action Plan barely mentions the Global Fund, simply "reaffirming support" for it, although it was the G8 that launched the Global Fund at the Genoa Summit in 2001. The Global Fund, the best hope impoverished countries have for increasing access to HIV treatment, is facing a budget shortfall of at least $4.7 billion for 2003-2004 because of underfunding from G7 donors.

"The G7 knows it can't keep the Global Fund alive with pledges like France's paltry contribution of US$150 million--a number derived from Chirac's desperate effort to keep pace with Bush's $1 billion funding ceiling and not France's fair share of $4.7 billion," said Sharonann Lynch. $4.7 billion is the minimum the Global Fund needs to remain operational through 2004. "Taking orders from the U.S., France and the rest of the G7 have all but forgotten the Global Fund and access to AIDS treatment."

G8 countries' bilateral programs, which are lauded in the G8 Health Action Plan, have typically refused to fund HIV treatment programs. President Bush's untested bilateral initiative, which is not yet operational, will not begin to deliver substantial results for two to three years at the earliest, while the Global Fund is facing an immediate financial crisis and is keeping people with AIDS alive now.

On access to medicines:

"The Action Plan encourages developing countries to accept strategies like concessionary offers from multinational drug companies, that have proven to be worse than half-measures in broadening access to medicines," said Paul Davis of Health GAP. "A real prescription for access is prioritization of generic competition, through use of exported and locally produced low cost medicines, and supporting countries in their WTO-legal right to break patent monopolies through compulsory licensing of medicines." The Plan mentions the relationship between the cost of medicines and access only in passing, and contains no mention of the impact on patent monopolies on pricing and access, a key factor in driving prices out of the reach of people who need them most.

On implementing the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health: At the Doha Ministerial in 2001, all WTO Countries agreed that WTO patent rules should not stand in the way of public health and access to medicines for all. The U.S. quickly reneged on its commitment, and continues to obstruct efforts at the WTO to help poor countries with inefficient domestic manufacturing capacity gain access to low cost, exported generic medicines. Both the Health and the Trade Plans spotlight the dangerous U.S. "solution," which puts the commercial interests of industry ahead of the rights of poor people to gain access to medicines they desperately need.

#30