On the road to Liberty

India's compliance with TRIPS will not hinder the poor's access to essential medicines; rather, it is the government's hold on the healthcare sector that makes equitable healthcare impossible. My article titled Misdiagnosing the diseases of the poor was published in The Indian Express on January 28 2005. The present debate over the Indian patent law, despite the passion, is underscored by the desire to score political points. Consequently, most of the arguments have been disconnected from reality. India has been a proving ground for those who oppose patents on pharmaceutical products. We scrapped all product patents in 1972. As a result, India is now home to over 20,000 pharmaceutical companies producing copies of drugs developed óand patentedó elsewhere. However, access to medicines remains pooró suggesting that patents are not the key determinant of access that their opponents claim. In India, medicine represents between 10 and 15% of total health care costs. This will...

The world responded actively to the tragedy in South and South East Asia. Aid, financial and otherwise poured in from all parts of the world. Unfortunately, thousands of people perished as the response to the tragedy was not fast enough, and the blame should be placed squarely on the politics. My article titled " The Politics Of Relief " was published in TCS Daily on January 6th 2005. The tragedy in South and South East Asia has shaken the world. Barely ten days after the tsunami swept thousands of kilometers of coastlines, killing an estimate 150,000 people and displacing millions, world leaders gathered for a mini summit in Indonesia to take stock and promise more money and technology. The UN is to lead the effort. The international community is estimated to have pledged over USD 2 billion in relief and rehab. The overwhelming grief of the victims is being matched by an enormous outpouring of sympathy and support. Money and material are pouring in from all across. But the r...