DOES TRIPS PREVENT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES FROM RESPONDING EFFECTIVELY TO HEALTH PROBLEMS AMONG THEIR POPULATION
Abstract:Before diving into detailed analysis of this topic, it is expedient to commence with a brief historical background of the TRIPS Agreement. An insight into the public health status of developing countries will also be necessary to properly evaluate the effect of the Agreement on the efforts of developing countries in mitigating public health crisis. A comparative analysis of
the aims and objectives of the agreement in line with the effect of its actual implementation on
developing countries will provide a clear discussion of the assertion that TRIPS prevents developing countries from responding effectively to health problems among their population. This assertion has been a subject of debate since the birth of the TRIPS Agreement. Many scholars and international lawyers have attempted to showcase the various points of argument from the stakeholders of the TRIPS agreement. Finding revealed that the patent provisions of the TRIPS Agreement should be interpreted and implemented in light of the objectives and principles of the agreement as provided for in its Articles 7 and 8 in the Doha Ministerial Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health adopted on 14 November 2001 and in the light of Article 12(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes the right of all persons to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.