General Facts
HIV/AIDS in the Developing World
What is the extent of HIV/AIDS in the Developing World?
Between 34-46 million people worldwide are living with
HIV/AIDS. Around 70% of these are in Africa with a further
20% in Asia. In 2003 alone, over 3 million people died of
HIV/AIDS-related causes and another 5 million people were
infected.1
What is Pfizer doing about the problem?
Pfizer takes very seriously the human tragedy of HIV/AIDS in the Developing
World. Hank McKinnell, Pfizer Chairman and CEO, recently toured Africa with
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, and concluded that "HIV/AIDS
is the most serious public health issue of our time". As evidence of Pfizer's
commitment to assist people with HIV/AIDS, we are offering Diflucan, an anti-fungal
medicine, at no charge to HIV/AIDS patients in least developed countries most
in need. Pfizer's support has no time or dollar limits.
Diflucan is not an HIV/AIDS treatment. However, it treats two infections with
high mortality rates suffered by a large number of HIV/AIDS patients (cryptococcal
meningitis and oesophageal candidiasis). The Pfizer Foundation has also funded
the construction of the first large-scale HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa (Kampala,
Uganda) to train medical personnel from across the continent on the latest
treatment options and bring the highest standard of care to patients. To date,
4 million tablets have been dispensed and 18,000 health workers trained through
Pfizer's HIV/AIDS programs.
Is providing free medicine all that is required?
In many countries where HIV/AIDS is prevalent, donated or low-cost medicines
cannot be utilised because of poor health infrastructure or inadequate expertise.
The clinic in Uganda is an important step toward redressing this problem in
Africa. Pfizer also provides free material as part of its Diflucan donation
program to assist medical staff in meeting the specific needs of HIV/AIDS patients.
Do Intellectual Property Rights prevent people from getting
the treatment they need?
Without the existence of intellectual property rights there would be no treatments
for HIV/AIDS at all. Effective intellectual property rights are an essential
precondition to sustained investment in research and development.
There is good evidence that it is not intellectual property rights which
prevent access to effective treatments in poorer countries. A study of African
nations found that there was no evidence of a correlation between access to
HIV/AIDS treatment and the existence of intellectual property rights. The study
concluded that the main barriers to HIV/AIDS treatment were factors such as
insufficient finances, a lack of political will, and poor medical care and
infrastructure.2
Pharmaceutical industry donation programs have proven to be very effective
at meeting the needs of impoverished populations. However, the industry cannot
solve the problem of HIV/AIDS on its own, but needs to work with responsible
people in Governments and non-government organisations to deliver effective
assistance programs. In the case of Pfizer's HIV/AIDS programs, partnerships
have been working to real effect.
"I'm not uncritical of drug companies, but the fact is that instead
of simply dumping drugs to no real effect, Pfizer is setting the standard
for partnership in Africa. And now they're expanding their efforts across
the continent".
- Dr. Francois Venter, Internist and Senior AIDS Specialist, Johannesburg
General Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Pfizer Australia View
- HIV/AIDS is the most serious health issue of our time.
- The pharmaceutical industry, governments and non-government
organisations must work together to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
- Solutions to HIV/AIDS in developing countries do not require
the erosion of intellectual property rights that foster the
search for a cure to the disease.
- In the case of HIV/AIDS the current international agreements
protect intellectual property while allowing poorer nations
to meet essential needs of their population.
- Poverty and inadequate healthcare infrastructure are major
barriers to effective treatment of HIV/AIDS.
1 WHO; World Health Report 2004. Changing History
2 Attaran, A and Gillespie-White, L, Do Patents for Antiretroviral Drugs Constrain
Access to AIDS Treatment in Africa, JAMA, 2001:286: 1886-1892