Important Resources
- All you need to know about the Currency Transaction Levy (CTL)
- 2009 Aids Epidemic Update by UNAIDS: Eight-year trend shows new HIV infections down by 17% - most progress seen in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Progress Report by WHO, UNICEF and UNAIDS, September 2009: Towards Universal Access: Scaling up Priority HIV/AIDS Interventions in the Health Sector,
- German National Appendix to the 3rd Report by Action for Global Health, July 2009: Germany's Official Development Aid to Health
- Fact Sheet, June 2009: Effects of Climate Change on Health and the Fight Against HIV and Aids
Our signature campaign "Life before pharmaceutical profits! Patents can be deadly." was a huge success. See the photos and all the details here ...
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Open letter Dr. Guido Westerwelle, designated German Foreign Minister, FDP-Parliamentary Group, on his election success.
Open Letter to German MEPs: Transparent financing for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Since its founding the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has proven an effective and efficient instrument for combating these three diseases: its lifesaving measures have reached 4.9 million people. We were, therefore, exceedingly shocked to discover that the draft of the German federal budget for 2010 proposed a massive reduction in the amount designated for the Global Fund! Instead of the 200 million Euros allocated in the past, it has now been proposed to reduce the amount to only 142 million Euros. This would mean a reduction of 29%, in spite of the fact that the German government signed a binding commitment at the Global Fund Donor Conference in 2007 promising to provide the fund with 200 million Euros per year from 2008 to 2010. See all the details of our open letter - more ...
Signature Campaign closed successfully: Life before pharmaceutical profits!
It is the poor of the world who die much too soon because of the high cost of medicines. Only a third of all people living with AIDS in Africa receive the medicines they need to survive. This means that two out of every three people living with AIDS have no chance of surviving.
One of the reasons for this is connected to the issue of patents. Patents belong to pharmaceutical companies and protect their intellectual property. But, above all, patents protect prices and profits – for 20 years. Whoever owns the patent for a medicine commands a monopoly, and monopolists dictate the price. Patents increase the price of medicines due to lack of competition. The owner of the patent is the sole determinant of the price.
That is why we had initiated a hugely successful signature campaign, which enabled us to collect more than 28.000 signatures of supportes. Read all about the our event on World Aids Day 2009, where we handed over the signatures to the pharmaceutical industry - more ...
Patent Pools: Feasible Solution to the Patent Dilemma
A patent pool is created when a number of patent rights, held by differentowners, are brought together (or pooled) and made available on anon-exclusive basis. Third parties like generic manufacturers of medicines can then make use of the patents against the payment of a royalty. Such a scheme allows easier access to many patents at once as it serves as a “one-stop-shop” for all involved.
Get all the details about patent pools and the patent pool campagne here ...