The group asserts, "The policies of imposing taxes and tariffs on medicines and medical devices by governments in the developing world are reprehensible, often creating insurmountable barriers for people living with HIV/AIDS."
Eudoxa founder and director, Waldemar Ingdahl says, "On World AIDS Day, the World Trade Organization [WTO] must be reminded that tariffs on essential medicines are a significant barrier to access."
Ingdahl continues, "Director General Pascal Lamy and the member states of the WTO must put the elimination of these tariffs at the top of the Hong Kong Ministerial agenda."
A recent study made by Dr. Roger Bate of the American Enterprise Institute and Richard Tren of Africa Fighting Malaria found that taxes and tariffs in some regions of the world were as high as 61 percent, with many of them rising well above double-digit levels.
Their study concluded that countries such as India and Brazil, two countries with large AIDS populations routinely tax essential medicines and medical devices at 20 and 29 percent respectively.
In May The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted its own investigation and released a report confirming the findings of Dr. Bate and Tren when it stated, "it is vital that policymakers, both at a national and international level, address the issue of tariffs on medicines and recognize the regressive nature of these duties, which ultimately tax the sick without regard for their economic status or ability to afford these medicines."
