HIV activists protest India-EU summit

Leaders from India and the European union are meeting in Brussels on Friday to lay out a broader roadmap for expanded engagements, especially in trade. The 11th India-EU summit is being held amid hectic negotiations between the two sides to bridge the differences on a free trade agreement that is expected to help in increasing bilateral trade volume to touch the 100 billion euro mark.

Meanwhile, international health activists are protesting the summit, saying the deal would stop India’s ability to both produce and export generic HIV medicines worldwide.

“Today we have more than five million people around the world who are receiving HIV drugs, and almost 80% -- a majority of them – are manufactured by Indian producers,” says Aditi Sharma of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition.

“Turning off the tap on generic production would affect the ability for our patients still waiting in line for the HIV treatment to get the newer drugs,” she told Vatican Radio.

Sharma says that clauses in the India-EU deal include “data exclusivity” which would require Indian generic companies to conduct their own clinical trials, and therefore delay the registration of generic medicines.

She said the deal would also undermine “the independence of the Indian judiciary to protect the right to health of its citizens, and puts third parties – such as treatment providers – at risk of police actions and court cases.”

Listen to Aditi Sharma’s full interview with Kelsea Brennan-Wessels: