Eyes on the Prize Legislative & Policy Update (March 2007)
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In this edition of Eyes on the Prize:
U.S. Global AIDS Funding and Continuing Resolution
Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Process
PEPFAR Abstinence-Only Earmark
Global Fund Executive Director
Fight for Generic Drugs
U.S. Global AIDS Funding and Continuing Resolution
Thanks to the outstanding efforts of organizations and grassroots supporters across the country, Congress turned a potential loss of $930 million for global AIDS and tuberculosis into a major gain!
The 110th Congress really came through, approving $4.5 billion for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), of which nearly one million is directed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria! The spending resolution, which was signed into law by President Bush on February 15, also included significant contributions to the President's Malaria Initiative, an increase over fiscal 2006 levels. While funding for the Global Fund is still below the levels that the US should be contributing as its responsible share, these overall increases are vital, and they put us in good standing to begin the fight for fiscal year 2008 funding that will save countless lives!
GAA worked tirelessly with grassroots supporters like you to reverse the dangerous funding levels originally presented in the CR. Your efforts were an integral part of this massive effort! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
However, we have a new challenge to face for fiscal 2007 appropriations. The emergency supplemental, which allocates money over and above that which is appropriated in regular appropriations bills (or, in this case, in the CR), is due to be voted on in the coming weeks. Activists across the country are working to get a request for $300 million to fight Extensively-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) included in the Supplemental. XDR-TB is entirely resistant to first-line TB drugs and almost completely resistant to second-line treatment. XDR-TB is becoming increasingly common in southern Africa, particularly in South Africa, which has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. So far, 85% of South Africans co-infected with HIV and XDR-TB have died. And just last month, Mozambique declared a TB emergency, meaning that XDR-TB may be spreading throughout the region. TB is highly communicable and is the number one killer of people living with HIV/AIDS even when they are infected with a treatable form. Infected with XDR-TB, the co-infection menace takes on a whole new urgency. That is why XDR-TB is truly an emergency, deserving of funding in the emergency supplemental. Click here to take action today!
Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Process
Congress has wrapped up its fiscal year 2007 appropriations process, but now the fiscal year 2008 budget process is underway. The first step was for President Bush to issue his 2008 Budget Request in early February. It contained a request of $5.77 billion for global HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria programs, $4.97 billion coming from the foreign operations account and $792 million from Labor, Health and Human Services (Labor-H). This is a net increase of $977 million over levels approved for fiscal 2007 in the continuing resolution. However, all $300 million requested by the President for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is in the Labor-H budget, meaning that this funding will have to compete with all money for domestic AIDS and other domestic poverty-related programs, de-emphasizing the importance of the global pandemic and the Global Fund itself.
To add to the challenges, Congress has begun to finalize the fiscal 2008 International Affairs Budget, also known as the 150 Account, which funds many US diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian efforts. Just last week the Senate Budget Committee cut $2.2 billion from the President's requested increase. Now it's up to the House to preserve this lifesaving funding; the budget is expected to be considered by the House Budget Committee next week.
We will rely heavily on your support to ensure that the President's entire request is fulfilled and that there is enough funding available for the many vital international programs funded by this budget. Our goal is to ensure that Congress appropriates enough to fill the enormous need for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria around the world. For fiscal year 2008, the total global need is $30.2 billion, according to UNAIDS, the WHO, and the Stop TB Partnership. Of this, the US fair-share is $9.425 billion. So how does this break down?
HIV/AIDS Total Global Need: $22.1 billion (UNAIDS) US Share: $7.4 billion GLOBAL FUND TO FIGHT AIDS, TB AND MALARIA
(included in total HIV/AIDS funding need) Total Global Need: $4.2 billion US Share: $1.4 billion TUBERCULOSIS Total Global Need: $5 billion (Stop TB Partnership) US Share: $1.025 billion MALARIA Total Global Need: $3.1 billion US Share: $1 billion
GAA will be working hard to make sure that members of Congress hear how great the global need really is, despite the success with funding for these diseases in the 2007 continuing resolution. But we can't do it without your support. Stay tuned for ways that you can make your voices heard, and stand up for those whose voices have been silenced!
PEPFAR Abstinence-Only Earmark
The new Congress means that we need to work for the reintroduction of legislation that was introduced, but not passed, by the previous Congress. One such bill is the Protection against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2006 (PATHWAY Act), previously introduced by Representative Barbara Lee (D-9th CA) and other bipartisan members of the House. PATHWAY would strike the earmark that requires a certain amount of money be spent on abstinence-only programming, a damaging and dangerous provision that leaves women and girls unable to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, and leaves everyone with a lack of knowledge that could save their lives and the lives of others. Reintroduction is expected any day now; we'll keep you posted and let you know how you can help get this important legislation passed!
New Global Fund Executive Director Selected
After several months of applications, interviews, and voting, all interspersed with uncertainty and anticipation, Dr. Michel Kazatchkine was named earlier this month as the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. Currently serving as France's ambassador for HIV/AIDS and Communicable Diseases, Dr. Kazatchkine has been dealing with global AIDS and treating individuals with the disease for over 20 years, and he has a strong commitment to science over politics. Dr. Kazatchkine also has significant prior experience working for the Global Fund, as he has served as the Vice-Chair of the Fund's Board of Directors and also as the first chair of the Fund's Technical Review Panel. Dr. Kazatchkine will begin his five year term on March 31, 2007, after the current director, Sir Richard Feachem, steps down.
Novartis Lawsuit Threatens Access to Generic Drugs
The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has filed a lawsuit against the government of India, protesting the government's rejection of the company's application for a patent. Novartis recently developed a new version of its leukemia drug, Gleevec, and had sought to patent the drug, thereby preventing other companies from producing cheaper generic versions. However, the application for a patent was rejected by the Indian government, as India's Patent Act only allows patents for products that are new inventions developed after 1995, or for updated drugs that exhibit improved efficacy. This stance by the Indian government reflects a commitment to the Doha Declaration, an agreement by the World Trade Organization stating that Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) should be interpreted by national governments so as "to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all." By rejecting the patent, the government of India is making way for generic drug companies to use the same formula to produce the same drug. Yet instead of costing $2,600 per patient per month, the drug will only cost $200 per patient per month. In the lawsuit, Novartis alleges that this version of Gleevec is a new and improved drug, not just a new formula of existing medication, and also that by rejecting the patent application, the Indian Patent Act is violating the company's intellectual property rights.
If Novartis is successful in this lawsuit, the company could set a precedent for countless other pharmaceutical companies seeking patents, making it much more difficult for generic drug companies to produce cheap, lifesaving drugs. India produces some of the cheapest generic drugs in the world, and it is one of few developing countries that actually produces quality medicines. The generic drugs made in India, which include antiretrovirals essential in fighting HIV/AIDS, are distributed throughout the world, with over half of the medicines used to treat AIDS in developing countries coming directly from India. As such, rejecting this lawsuit is not only important for recipients of Gleevec, but for recipients of various generic drugs worldwide. The Indian courts literally hold millions of lives in their hands!
The Global AIDS Alliance, in partnership with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Oxfam International, the Stop HIV/AIDS in India Initiative, and other advocacy groups throughout the world, is urging Novartis to drop the lawsuit against the Indian government. In addition to holding public protests, MSF has organized a petition, which makes a strong case against the lawsuit.
Click here to show your support for millions of people in need or medication worldwide by signing the petition. Click here for more information about the Novartis lawsuit.