Pharmaceutical Corporations and the Duty to Aid in HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Abstract

At the ministerial conference held in Doha in 2001, the World Trade Organization (WTO) pointed out that public health problems resulting from tuberculosis, malaria, and other epidemics are afflicting many developing and least developed countries (LDCs).2 It reiterated the organization's commitment to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), but affirmed that the Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all. While the WTO's plea was directed at various member nation states, in recent years some have argued that for-profit pharm aceutical corporations also have a moral duty to help promote access to essential medicines in the LDCs. This essay will focus on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in LDCs and examine whether or not multinational pharmaceutical corporations that pro duce AIDS medication have a moral duty to help ease the disproportionate disease burden. While there are many third-world infectious diseases that are affecting LDCs, this article will only focus on HIV/AIDS, which is unique partly because it is not solely a third-world disease. Unlike many infectious diseases such as TB and malaria, which are concentrated in LDCs with limited ability to pay for health care and thus have long been neglected