Agencies

Washington, July 27:

With the US House of Representatives due to vote this week on the fate of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), international health activists are warning that the intellectual property provisions included in the pact could spell death for hundreds of thousands of poor people.

They blame the lobbying clout of ‘Big Pharma,’ the brand-name pharmaceutical companies that have successfully inserted language in the accord, which covers the Dominican Republic as well as the nations of Central America, to prevent cheaper, generic drug manufacturers from selling their products, including life-preserving anti-retroviral treatments for AIDS victims, to needy patients in the region.

“With CAFTA, the Office of the US Trade Representative, operating at the behest of BIG Pharma, has imposed on Central America and the Dominican Republic a trade deal that will deny millions access to life-saving and essential medicines,” according to Robert Weissman, co-director of Essential Action, a public interest group here. “The region’s combined economy is about the size of Columbus, Ohio, and its poor populations mostly cannot afford high-priced brand-name pharmaceuticals. But what for Big Pharma is dollars and cents is life and death for the people of Central America,” he said.

CAFTA, which was approved by the Senate last month, could be sent to the House floor. Most observers believe that its chances of approval are improving hour by hour as the White House peels away the dissidents by promising them unrelated benefits.