Doctors Without Doctors Advocates for Drugs in Need.
In « Making Bill C-9 Work » Rachel Kiddell-Monroe,
an article published in the Doctors Without Borders Newsletter called Dispatches in volume seven, edition number one, shows that there should be a legislation to ask
pharmaceutical companies to produce drugs that are needed the most by patients, especially those that live in developping countries where Doctors Without Borders works, but companies are sometimes reluctant to accept this legislation. Doctors Without Borders is interested in asking corporations to manufacture the drugs in Canada, and the problem is that the cost is higher. The legislation supported by the «Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines » of Doctors Without Borders will be studied by the parliament in 2007, and this means that every patient will be able to receive urgent medicines for instance for HIV/AIDS. Doctors Without Borders wants to assist populations which are vulnerable by giving them the possibility to have access to drugs for communicable diseases. Although, Doctors Without Borders has named the « generic drugs » in need by vulnerable populations, the pharmaceutical companies which work in Canada as Corporations prefere to manufacture them in other countries. And One of the reasons why the pharmaceutical companies prefer not to produce in Canada is because the cost to make them in other countries is lower. There is an International decision from the World Trade Organization which legislates on helping vulnerable population to have medicines for preventable disease. Finally, the idea to legislate on access to essential medicines is an emergency to take into consideration, and Doctors Without Borders is trying to advocate not only on the local level, but also on the international level to help poor populations to be treated, and continues to advocate for medicines for humanitarian reasons, although pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to help because of financial reasons.
Beatrice Nkundwa.