Abstract

Bush, AIDS, Big Pharma

The author argues that a plan for AIDS relief announced by U.S. president George W. Bush actually undermines the AIDS treatment work of international health organizations. When George W. Bush announced a $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief in his 2003 State of the Union address, he compared the fight against AIDS to the war on terrorism. Unfortunately, the analogy has proved apt. More than fourteen months and 3 million AIDS deaths later, the Administration's "war on AIDS" has been characterized by unilateralism, disregard for international consensus and corporate cronyism. Rather than support existing and proven international programs to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, the Bush plan has undercut and circumvented them at nearly every turn. Although Bush quoted prices for generic versions of AIDS drugs in his announcement, in fact the first round of US grants under its PEPFAR program does not authorize the use of generics, instead favoring drugs from Western pharmaceutical companies at prices at least four times higher than the lowest-cost generics. By simply switching to fixed-dose generics, the United States could double the number of patients in treatment and reduce the number of pills, making compliance easier. The Administration's latest move, however, may have generated an international backlash. Even Richard Holbrooke, who represents 140 multinationals on the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, scolded Bush officials, saying that US protection of Big Pharma was "tearing apart all the good work that people are doing."