It has been observed that local family units have tend to file bankruptcies due to a number of causes, and medical expenses that are unaffordable these days, is one of the main causes of bankruptcies that has affected millions of lives around the world. However, the ratio of the deaths in different countries has been different in terms of developing and developed countries. One of the reasons of this difference is that excise and custom duties that are responsible for the unaffordable prices of medicines have been avoided by the developed countries by the creation of pharmaceutical industries, which has reduced the ratio of deaths, as well as, bankruptcies in these countries. In addition, an extra benefit is provided by some of the companies of developed countries by the provision of health insurance.
In this regard, high prices of drugs, as well as, medicines have considered greatly by the economists, as well as, other experts around the world. In addition, most of the developing countries are confronting crisis in their health sectors due to these high-priced medicines, which has been greatly provoked tension in these countries. Specifically, it has been indicated by a number of statistics that infectious diseases are the causes of deaths of around fourteen million people around the world. Some of the diseases are tuberculosis, malaria, etc. Moreover, a number of experts have held infectious diseases responsible for approximately fifty percent of deaths in the African, as well as, in some parts of the Asian continent (Balasubramanyam. K, 2001).
Several countries have improved greatly in the health sector around the world. However, developing counties are still confronting many health crises due to high death toll caused by expensive medicines. One of the reasons is poverty that is very common in the developing countries, and thus, does not allow a person to afford expensive medicines, which results in the death of the patient. Moreover, one of the most important causes that is not considered greatly by the authorities is the water and sanitation system, which affects the poor people adversely.
The Pharmaceutical Industry and the AIDS Crisis in Developing Countries
There a number of medicines that plays an important and significant role in saving a person’s life, which has been referred as life-saving medicines. It has been indicated by the statistics that countries that are available with these life-saving medicines have observed reduction in the deaths that have been caused by the AIDS / HIV diseases. In this regard, industrialized countries that have their own pharmaceutical industry have observed dramatic change in the death toll. Thus, essential medicines, and their affordability has been greatly considered after the beginning of HIV / AIDS issues in the world. However, still too-expensive treatments have been indicated by the experts, which are necessary for a standard treatment of the disease. For instance, it has been observed that around fifteen thousand dollars has been an estimated cost of abovementioned diseases annually, which is very expensive for a nonprofessional, and may cause bankruptcy. In this regard, developing countries are confronting a serious issue due to the abovementioned high-priced treatment of the HIV/AIDS treatment, as experts have indicated that developing countries have more than ninety percent of the HIV patients out of the world (World Health Organization, 2000).
As earlier mentioned in the paper, the developing countries are confronting a serious health issue due to expensive and unaffordable prices of the medicines, which has resulted in the arousing of advocates, as well as, public in these countries. The above statement has already been supported by the abovementioned example of the HIV/AIDS issue. As earlier mentioned in the paper that manufacturing cost, as well as, excise duties results in the high prices of the medicines. However, it has been observed that pharmaceutical companies play a negative role by enjoying their monopoly in the countries due to their controlling patents in the country, and thus, results in the high prices of the medicines (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 1996).
Thus, health care, health insurance, and other health benefits are almost out of reach, or not provided to the people in most of the developing countries. In this regard, poor infrastructure of the health sector, as well as, transportation system of these countries is also responsible for unavailability of the health benefits. Thus, no proper health systems are provided to the citizens in the developing countries, which are often provided, but in lapses.
In addition, it has been indicated by the researches that the problem of health care has been enhanced further by the introduction of privatization in government-funded health care systems in the developing countries. One of the reasons of this enhancement is the social, as well as, economic discrimination due to the privatization of healthcare system in the developing countries, as poor people have not been able to take advantage of expensive privatized healthcare facilities in these countries. Despite of abovementioned deteriorating consequences of the privatized healthcare, the privatization has been encouraged and appreciated by a number of organizations, such as the World Bank, IMF, etc.
Actions taken in order to improve the condition in developing countries
A number of developing countries have observed efforts being made by different governments, as well as, non-governmental organizations for the improvement of healthcare facilities in these countries. For instance, the Global Alliance for a new drug has been formed by several organizations, pharmaceutical industries, and governments for the creation of affordable treatment for the AIDS in the developing countries.
The creation of new drugs for the affordable treatment has been supervised by Giorgio Roscigno, who is the chief executive of the Global Alliance. In this respect, public, as well s, private companies will be taken into a venture that will play the role of a pharmaceutical company for the improvement of healthcare systems, as well as, affordable treatment of AIDS in the developing countries. In this regard, a number of companies in the African continent have been considered by the abovementioned company that will work for the circumvention of the expensive treatments of HIV/AIDS (Vanessa Fuhrmans, 2001).
Moreover, the developing countries have been supported by the improvement in the deteriorated conditions of a number of policies related to the healthcare and use of drugs in these countries. One of the examples of these efforts is the introduction of relief policies that have been greatly promoted by a number of organizations, such as the World Bank, IMF, etc. However, ineffective results of the relief policies have been assumed by several experts, and aggravation of the AIDS have been assumed by the World Development Movement (World Health Organization, 2000).
The World Bank, as well as, the IMF is playing a vital and crucial role in the provision of a number of facilities related to the healthcare many developing countries around the world. In this regard, Structural Adjustment policy is one of the other efforts that have been made by these organizations in the developing countries. In this respect, cutting back of useful resources for the undertaking of the abovementioned issue have been done by these organizations.
One of the important and significant efforts that have been made by the abovementioned, and some other health organizations is the introduction of compulsory licensing that has promoted availability of necessary medicines in the developing countries, and has improved the deteriorated conditions of healthcare facilities in these regions. In addition, parallel imports of the medicines have also improved the worsened conditions of the developing countries. In this respect, owner of a patent can be instructed legally by the government to allow or share the rights with other pharmaceutical companies in the country, which has resulted in the reduction of monopoly of these pharmaceutical companies so far. For instance, Bristol-Myers Squibb has manufactured a drug for the treatment of HIV/AIDS. Its patent rights have been given to a company, which can be instructed by the government for the issuing of license to another local company. Thus, Bristol-Myers Squibb will be benefited with a sensible and rational loyalty, and a standard name would be used by the local company in the country (Sabin Russell, 1999).
Imports of a specific product, as well as, its resale have been involved in the parallel imports, which do not require the approval of the original seller of the product. In the result, the lowest world price can be explored by the buyers in the developing countries. For example, Namibian people can be provided with a HIV/AIDS drugs manufactured in the France by the Namibian company in the Namibia at a lower price, as compared to the other prices around the world. Thus, consumers can be provided with lower prices of medicines in the developing countries by the provision of parallel imports.
The World Trade Organization manages the international trade rules, which have authorized the utilization of parallel imports, as well as, compulsory licensing in the developing countries. In this regard, the establishment of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has been greatly appreciated by the developing countries, as well as, the developed countries, such as the United States, the European Union, and some of the developed countries of the Asian continent. In addition, enforcement on intellectual property by the WTO has been encouraged by the international rules that are contained one of the agreements of the general agreement on tariffs and trade. Moreover, it has been believed by the public advocates that corporations have been unsuitably favored and supported by the abovementioned agreement, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (David Satcher, 1999).
Conclusion
Finally, it has been observed and felt by most of the people that the world is confronting a major issue of HIV/AIDS that has affected millions of affected, as well as, unaffected people in the developing, as well as, developed countries of the world.
Conclusively, compassion, as well as, the ability that ignores the concept of profit, are some of the key factors that are required in the governments, non-governmental organizations, in order to reduce and eliminate the crisis of HIV/AIDS that has affected millions of lives around the world. Furthermore, it has been indicated by Tamara Straus that racial discrimination should also be avoided for the improvement in the healthcare systems in the developing countries, and for the quick reduction of the HIV/AIDS crisis around the world.
References
- Balasubramaniam, K. (2001), Access to Medicines: Patents, Prices and Public Policy – Consumer Perspectives, paper presented at Oxfam International Seminar on Intellectual Property and Development: What Future for the WTO TRIPS Agreement?, Brussels, 2001.
- World Health Organization (2000), Communicable Diseases 2000 Ð Highlights of activities in 1999 and major challenges for the future, WHO, Geneva.
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (1996), the TRIPS Agreement and Developing Countries, UNCTAD, Geneva and New York.
- VANESSA FUHRMANS, 2001, Amid the AIDS Crisis, Advocates Battle Resurgence of Tuberculosis, Wall Street Journal
- Tamara Straus, The Moral Calculus of AIDS, AlterNet, 2001
- Sabin Russell, 1999, “New Crusade To Lower AIDS Drug Costs Africa’s Needs at Odds with Firms’ Profit Motive,” San Francisco Chronicle.
- David Satcher, 1999 “From the Surgeon General: The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),