3 Chi J Intl L 27
Ellen 't Hoen

The AIDS crisis draws attention to the fact that millions in the developing world lack access to medicines. In many cases prohibitive drug prices, often a result of intellectual property protection throw up a barrier to needed treatments.The WTO TRIPS Agreement which sets out the minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property, has come under fierce criticism because of the anticipated negative effects on the availability of affordable medicines.The 4th WTO Ministerial Conference held in 2001 in Doha, Qatar, adopted the Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health. The Declaration gives primacy to public health over private intellectual property and clarifies WTO Members' rights to use the TRIPS safeguards. This paper describes the developments that led to the adoption of this Declaration.