Ed Bradley interviews members of U2 on "60 Minutes" (CBS, Nov. 20)

Now _here's_ an interview I'd like to see on American
television--Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, telling
interviewer Evan Soloman (Hot Type, CBC Newsworld, Nov. 12/05):

Lewis: "The United States is further from reaching the target of 0.7%
of GNP [money used to fight global poverty] than any country in the
world....and unless the United States is prepared to give significant
additional amounts of money, I don't think we'll ever get to the
millennium development goals, certainly not for Africa, where the goals
are constantly sabotaged by the presence of the HIV/AIDS virus anyway.
In addition to that, the United States is giving a paltry sum to what
we call the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which is the
best international financial facility for getting money right to the
ground where it is needed.

Solomon: They're giving their _own_ money. Now George Bush has a
different program.

Lewis: Well, George Bush has a program of $15 billion over 5 years, and
I wouldn't be so curmudgeonly as to deny that that money has an impact.
You see it's so interesting, you announce a vast program--$15
billion--hosannas  on every side. It's like the G8. Everybody is
hypnotized by the illusion of the figures, and then you start examining
them and you realize that there are prejudicial components that
frustrate the work that has to be done.

Solomon: What's wrong with the Bush iniative?

Lewis: For example, they buy brand-name pharmaceuticals with their
money. You could treat 2, 3, 4 times as many people if you bought the
prequalified generic drugs that are coming from India. The other thing
about the Bush iniative which is not widely known is that it only deals
with 14 or 15 countries, not all of them in Africa, whereas the global
fund deals with 127 countries. Now, think of what that means: Lesutu
has the highest prevalence rate [of HIV/AIDS] of any least developed
country in the world. It's not part of the Bush iniative, so..."

Solomon: Why not?

Lewis: You want to know why not in the case of Lesutu, although this is
now being held otherwise on the continent. Lesutu was required to sign
an undertaking that no American citizen or military personnel would
ever be taken before the International Criminal Court. They [Lesutu]
need the money desperately, they needed the money desperately, and they
are very principled. It's a little country of 2.2 million people, a
lovely bright cabinet, and they decided "no"--they would give up the
money before they would give up their essential sovereignty. They
didn't feel they should be complying with those requirements.
----
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/17/60minutes/main1053542.shtml

Bono And The Christian Right

Nov. 17, 2005

"People openly laughed in my face when I said this administration
would distribute antiretroviral drugs to Africa. There's 200,000
Africans now who owe their lives to America."
Bono

(CBS) When he's not piquing their ire by using profanities on the air,
U2 front-man Bono is enlisting the help of America's Christian Right
to get drugs to African AIDS victims.

The activist rocker tells 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley that
getting conservative Christians on his side was the best way to push
the Bush administration to send more aid to Africa. Bradley profiles
the Irish super group this Sunday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

This was one mission that Bono decided wasn't going to get done by
"taking the usual bleeding heart liberal line," he tells Bradley. So
the guy on the left approached the right, "particularly conservative
Christians," he says.

"I was very angry that they were not involved more in the AIDS
emergency. I was saying, `This is the leprosy that we read about in
the New TestamentChrist hung out with the lepers,'" Bono recalls
saying, "`But you're ignoring the AIDS emergency.'"

It worked. "And you know, they said, `Well, you're right,
actuallyand
we're sorry. We'll get involved.' And they did," Bono recalls. "People
openly laughed in my face when I said this administration would
distribute antiretroviral drugs to Africa. There's 200,000 Africans
now who owe their lives to America."

Bradley also speaks to the other U2 members, drummer Larry Mullen,
bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist, The Edge.

As he becomes more known for his political causes, Bono insists it's
still about the band's music. "I need the music more than I need
politics or the activism, I can assure you of that," he says.

And all that altruism hasn't obscured his rock star's ego, either,
Bradley finds out. "Still want to be the best band in the world?" asks
Bradley. "Still want?" asks a laughing Bono. "Still want? Line them
up," he tells Bradley.
---
In a 2002 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Bono of U2 commented:

"Christ's example is being demeaned by the church if they ignore the
new leprosy, which is AIDS. The church is the sleeping giant here. If
it wakes up to what's really going on in the rest of the world, it has
a real role to play. If it doesn't, it will be irrelevant."

http://www.suntimes.com/output/falsani/cst-nws-bono03.html
===

http://www.peopleandplanet.org/stopaids/briefing.access.php

Blocking access
Who, what and why?

Getting access to treatment should be a simple matter of need. Instead,
patents on medicines give big pharmaceutical companies the right to
control the availability and pricing of essential drugs, and the
choices that they make can be the difference between life and death for
millions.

Priced out of reach

The excessively high prices of the branded ARV drugs manufactured by
the big multinational pharmaceutical companies have put them out of
reach to poorer countries, and placed a major obstacle in the way of
easy access to treatment for those in need.

This is especially true for countries that require huge quantities of
drugs to deal with their epidemics, and means that just 7% of those in
need of ARVs in the developing world can get them (see 'Coverage and
need for ARV treatment' table below).

Generic firms, who make safe and effective copies of brand drugs at far
lower prices, have been helping to break this monopoly on medicines,
and through competition have been forcing all prices down.

A massive scaling up and subsidising of the manufacture of the cheapest
of these drugs is needed if countries with small health budgets and big
HIV/AIDS epidemics are to have a chance of beating the crisis. But the
brand pharmaceuticals are not making this easy.

1. Owning medicines

Only 7% of those in need of ARV treatment outside the west are
currently receiving it. Why?

i. What are patents?

Drug patents are like a contract between the drug company and the
government in a country where they want to produce and sell a
particular medicine, giving the company full ownership of it for a
certain amount of time. This means no-one can make copies of the drug.
Individual countries have different patent laws. Theres no such
thing as international patents, and companies must apply for one in
every country where they want to sell their drug directly.

Coverage and need for ARV treatment
Adults in developing countries on ARV treatment, by WHO Region,
November 2003
Source: World Health Organization
Region    No. people on treatment    Estimated need    Current coverage
Africa    100,000    4,400,000    2%
Americas    210,000    250,000    84%
Europe    15,000    80,000    19%
E. Mediterranean    5,000    100,000    5%
S-E Asia    60,000    900,000    7%
Western Pacific    10,000    170,000    6%
All WHO Regions    400,000    5,900,000    7%

ii. How has it worked for HIV/AIDS-related drugs?

There are eight major pharmaceutical companies which produce and market
the various crucial HIV/AIDS drugs. They each have a virtual monopoly
on the drugs they produce, because patents mean no one else has access
to the research they have bought or car ried out on that drug until the
patent expires. That means they can charge whatever they like because
theres no competition. As a result, the first ARV drug - AZT - came
on the market at $10,000 a year in 1987. Brand drug prices remained sky
high, and far out of the reach of poorer people. However, they are now
beginning to drop fast, as generic manufacturers compete in the same
markets.

No politician, no government official in Africa can accept that a
person can die from lack of drugs when we know that drugs are
available. The only issue is that some people just want to get profit
and this is not acceptable to us,
Mr Ngasomgwa, Tanzanian Trade Minister

2. Generic manufacturers

Where a drug patent expires in a country, or doesnt apply there,
companies other than the original pharmaceutical can start to
manufacture and develop copies known as 'generics'. India, Brazil,
Thailand and China are principal examples of countries which permit
this. They are usually dramatically cheaper than brand alternatives.

On average, the minimum price paid for generic versions of HIV/AIDS
drugs is 82% less than the brand price, according to MSF. Generic AIDS
drugs have now been certified as safe and effective by the World Health
Organisation, and generic manufacturers are the only companies to have
combined the three drugs needed for a full treatment regimen, or
'cocktail', into two pills taken daily. These two dose ARVs have
simplified taking the medicines so that even people in the poorest
regions can take them effectively.

The South African government is now encouraging growth in its own
generics companies, to meet massive need. In Brazil, the government set
up its own non-profit generics company to produce ARV for free general
distribution, with dramatic results (see 'A generics success story:
Brazil' below).

I dont cry for myself, nor for my children, but the first time I
left Africa and travelled to the United States I cried. I couldnt
believe that this other world existed, a world where people were always
throwing food in the bin, where special outfits were designed for dogs,
a world capable of doing something about the AIDS pandemic but which
may decide not to.
Princess Zulu, Zambian HIV positive AIDS activist

3. The Pharmaceuticals respond

i. Drug donations and price drops

Some brand-name pharmaceutical companies have responded to intense
public pressure and made moves towards dropping AIDS drug prices.
Others have offered to donate some drugs free of charge. For example,
Boehringer Ingelheim have offered to give every developing country free
ARVs to prevent mother to child transmission for a period of at least
five years.

However, depending on the good will of brand pharmaceuticals is not a
sustainable solution. If they were to go back on a price promise, or
stop providing ARVs suddenly, there would be a serious risk to those
already taking the drugs.

Branded drugs will always be more expensive than generic alternatives,
no matter how low they drop their prices, because costs are lower for
generic companies who dont have to do serious initial research and
development on a copied medicine. In addition, state run generic
companies will always give the lowest possible price, as their motive
is not to make profit, as Brazil has shown.

We need to encourage sustainable generic production in order to get
access to treatment on the massive scale needed in the developing
world. Relying on branded pharmaceuticals to drop their prices does not
solve the fundamental problem of needing a reliable long term source of
the cheapest possible drugs manufactured on a large enough scale to
treat the millions in need.

ii. The South African Court Case

In 1997, the South African government passed a 'Medicines Act',
intended to bring down the price of essential medicines and promote
national health above patent rights. The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers'
Association and forty brand companies then took the South African
government to court to block the Act, saying it broke their patent
rights and would harm their profits, and naming Nelson Mandela as the
main defendant. They withdrew the case in 2001 after a huge public
outcry, but this aggressive action revealed to the world the strength
of the pharmaceuticals' grip on the availability of essential
medicines, and their desire to protect their patents at all costs.

4. Interfering in politics

Drug companies have a massive influence on many governments, especially
the USA, where the Republicans received approximately $20 million in
donated funding in the last electoral cycle. The pharma company Bristol
Myers Squibb alone spent an additional $4.6 million on lobbying the US
government in 2000. Randall Tobias - the former chairman and chief
executive officer of Eli Lilly (a US pharmaceutical giant) - was
appointed head of Bush's AIDS programme in 2003. Drug companies also
spent $78.1 million on lobbying the US Congress in 2001 (the most
recent year for which lobby disclosure reports are available), bringing
the total pharma lobbying bill for 1997-2001 to $403,071,467. The brand
drug companies employed 623 different individual lobbyists in 2001 -
thats more than one lobbyist for every member of Congress!

5. What is needed?

Theres no point making generic ARVs cheaper in Africa. People
still wont be able to afford them. We need to make them free so that
parents can survive long enough to see their children grow up.
Princess Zulu, Zambian HIV positive AIDS activist

*    More countries manufacturing their own generic drugs, such as
South Africa and Brazil
*    More countries able to import generic drugs in large quantities
from manufacturers elsewhere
*    Serious extra cash to pay for these initiatives

There have been moves towards these goals, most notably the WHO's 3 by
5 initiative and various deals by organisations such as the Clinton
Foundation to lower the cost and raise the quantities of generic drugs.
If bulk production of cheap generic drugs happens it will push prices
down even further. This way the brand pharmaceuticals' monopoly of
HIV/AIDS treatment can be broken, and access to treatment made a
reality for even the poorest countries.

A generics success story: Brazil

In Brazil, the government announced a national treatment plan. They
have set up their own not-for-profit generics manufacturing company,
and provide ARV free for all those who need it.

Universal access to free AIDS treatment led to a 54% reduction in AIDS
deaths between 1995 and 1999, and government savings totalled US$472
million between 1997 and 1999, because of prevented hospitalisations
and a reduction in the need to treat opportunistic infections.

I want someone to explain to me why it isnt called murder
Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa

This is war - nothing less
Steve Jenning, a drug company lobbyist, about the industry's attempt to
squash a bill on cheap drug imports in the US.
===
Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary-Generals special envoy for HIV/AIDS
in Africa, is a voice crying in the wilderness...

By speaking out so forcefully, he risks being fired from his position,
but is compelled to.

Listen (requires RealOne Player)
CBC Radio's provocative interview with Stephen Lewis
Oct 19th, 2005
http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/media/20051019lewis.ram

I would like to throttle...those who've waited so unendurably long
to act, those who can find infinite resources for war but never
sufficient resources to ameliorate the human condition.  Stephen
Lewis

http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org
---
Monday, November 7 - Friday, November 11
THE 2005 MASSEY LECTURES BY STEPHEN LEWIS - RACE AGAINST TIME  CD/Book
Stephen Lewis offers compelling insight into the problems that continue
to threaten humankindpoverty, hunger, gender and class
inequalityand a hopeful glimpse of a solution on the horizon. This
is a heartfelt plea, an examination of the depth of these challenges
and a recipe for banishing them.

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/massey/massey2005.html

Massey Lectures 2005

I have spent the last four years watching people die.

With these wrenching words, diplomat and humanitarian Stephen Lewis
opens his 2005 Massey Lectures. Lewiss determination to bear witness
to the desperate plight of so many in Africa and elsewhere is balanced
by his unique, personal, and often searing insiders perspective on
our ongoing failure to help. Lewis recounts how, in 2000, the United
Nations Millennium Summit in New York introduced eight Millennium
Development Goals, which focused on fundamental issues such as
education, health, and cutting poverty in half by 2015. In audacious
prose, alive with anecdotes ranging from maddening to hilarious to
heartbreaking, Lewis shows why and how the international community is
falling desperately short of these goals.

Stephen Lewis is the UN Secretary-Generals special envoy for
HIV/AIDS in Africa, a commissioner of the World Health Organizations
Commission on Social Determinants of Health, and director of the
Stephen Lewis Foundation.
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/index.html

His extensive experience as a politician, diplomat, and humanitarian
includes tenures as Canadian ambassador to the UN, special advisor on
Africa to the UN Secretary-General, and deputy executive director of
UNICEF. He was named Macleans magazines Canadian of the
Year in 2003 and was listed by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most
influential people in the world in 2005. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

The lectures will be broadcast on IDEAS the week of November 7 - 11th.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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http://www.anansi.ca/forum.cfm
http://www.anansi.ca/forum.cfm?forum_id=7&forum_view=Index

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---