UNAids praise praises court ruling to allow sale of generic drugs

By STANDARD REPORTER

UNAidd has commended the High Court for a ruling it says will safeguard access to affordable and quality life-saving generic drugs.

The decision by the High Court found that the definition of "anti-counterfeit" within the 2008 Anti-Counterfeit Act was too broad.

"The Act is vague and could undermine access to affordable generic medicines since the Act had failed to distinguish between counterfeit and generic medicines," said High Court judge, Justice Mumbi Ngugi in her ruling on Friday.

The High Court called on Parliament to review the Act and remove ambiguities that could result in arbitrary seizures of generic medicines under the pretext of fighting

Counterfeit drugs

The judgement also stated that intellectual property rights should not override the right to life and health.

"A vast majority of people in Kenya rely on quality generic drugs. Through this important ruling, the High Court has upheld a fundamental element of the right to health," said UNAids Executive Director Michel SidibÈ. "This decision sets a precedent for ensuring access to life-saving drugs."

Daily survival

At the end of last year, about 1.6 million people in Kenya were living with HIV. An estimated 743 000 Kenyans are eligible for antiretroviral treatment, of whom 539 000 are receiving it.

Kenya’s national HIV treatment programme relies heavily on access to generic antiretroviral medicines.

In low- and middle-income countries more than 80 per cent of the antiretroviral drugs used by the 6.6 million people on HIV treatment come from generic manufacturers.

Nearly eight million additional people living with HIV were eligible for treatment at the end of 2010.