Not many Ugandans have heard about the Industrial Properties Bill (2009) but here is why we should pay attention.
Uganda continues to register steady increases in annual HIV infection rates since 2010. Annual infection rates have risen from 100,000 in 2010 to 150,000 in 2011 according to statistics from the AIDS Information Centre (AIC).
Now, here is why the Industrial Properties Bill (2009) can make or break not just the lives of Ugandans currently enrolled on HIV treatment but the Ugandan economy as a whole given that a 2008 UNDP study showed that continued access to HIV treatment offsets the negative economic growth rate of HIV by 5.3%.
According to the 2013 ministerial policy statement signed by Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, the Health Minister, there are 520,000 Ugandans currently enrolled on HIV treatment- and counting.
Over 90% of these half a million Ugandans depend on Indian generic antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for treatment- according to Denis Kibira, a pharmacist and medicines Adviser at HEPS-Uganda.
The trouble is that the Indian generic ARVs, and yes, even those manufactured by Quality Chemicals at Luzira, are not brand drugs. Put another way, the generics consumed by Ugandan ARV users were not developed by Indian pharmaceutical companies.
