Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-03-15-Speech-4-129"
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"en.20010315.7.4-129"2
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"Mr President, the French constitution which emerged from the 1789 revolution contains a duty to revolt which appears to sum up our debate perfectly. A duty to revolt for the 34 million people with AIDS, most of whom – over 4 million sufferers – live in South Africa.
What could be more normal, in the face of a catastrophe which everyone agrees is a humanitarian, health, demographic, economic and social catastrophe, than to want to do everything to save one’s own people. Must we reiterate that, thanks to various treatments, we have considerably prolonged and improved the life of patients in the west, while in Africa and Brazil AIDS sufferers are dying because only 5% of them can obtain treatment due to the excessively high cost of drugs.
That is why South Africa passed a law in 1997 so that its sufferers could benefit from suitable care. I think it is irresponsible for the pharmaceutical industry to block this legislation. During this period, 400 000 South Africans have contracted AIDS.
In using the WTO to attack Brazil, which – by using its own treatment – has almost halved its AIDS epidemic, the United States have demonstrated an equally unfortunate cynicism. Not only should these proceedings be abandoned; more importantly, we should urgently help revise international trading rules so that they benefit human health. Mothers of families with no access to AZT are bringing babies into the world who already have AIDS and are condemned from the day they are born. Is that the humanitarianism and solidarity which inspires our resolutions?
I think, Mr President, that we need to retaliate against the indifference of the 34 pharmaceutical companies and affirm the principle of exemption for reasons of health. If this principle is not applied, we shall call on the Commission to suspend the investment aid granted to all the European companies until such time as they withdraw their complaint against South Africa. And then we should push for a World Solidarity Fund to be set up and cofinanced by the pharmaceutical industry. Because, faced with their indifference and given the huge profits which they make, we should force them to invest in research and invent a vaccination as a matter of absolute priority."@en1
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