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August 09, 2006
A Call to Action for the XVI International AIDS Conference to Eliminate Tariffs on Medicines and Medical Devices
Tariffs on medicines and medical devices represent a barrier to reaching the 2010 target of universal access for treatment of HIV/AIDS. Taxing the sick only hurts the estimated one third of the world’s population living without access to adequate healthcare and essential medicines.
The World Health Organization in a report last year urged the international community to "address the issue of tariffs on medicines and recognize the regressive nature of these duties, which ultimately tax the sick". These tariffs can reach double-digits according to recent research. For example, Uganda and Brazil have an average tariff of 31 and 28 percent respectively.
The New York Times in a recent editorial stated that taxing medicine was one of the most regressive forms of taxation and that "no country should do it".
The leaders of the G8 nations concurred and urged governments to eliminate import tariffs and non-tariff barriers on medicines and medical devices.
The United Nations and civil society agree. In June, the United Nations wrote in their Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS that it was committed to ending the problem of tariffs on medicines. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the global humanitarian relief organization wrote in July that add-ons such as import taxes and distribution mark-ups only increase the final price of drugs.
"We urge the delegates and leaders of the XVI International AIDS Conference to help end these state-imposed barriers of duties and tariffs together with cumbersome drug registration processes and customs delays that block access to medicines", says Waldemar Ingdahl, director of the think tank Eudoxa. Ingdahl continues "together, we can end this tax on the sick and move one step closer to achieving universal AIDS drug access".
The Eudoxa think tank is based in Stockholm, Sweden. Their focus is on discussing the societal effects of scientific progress on society with classical free-market ideas and dynamist thoughts on experimentation. Eudoxa has published books and reports in Swedish, Danish and English.
For further information, please contact director Waldemar Ingdahl. Telephone +46 8 83 87 73, e-mail info@eudoxa.se
Posted by Waldemar at August 9, 2006 08:02 AM