HIV/AIDS in Brazil
Infection rates climbed exponentially throughout the 1980s, and in 1990 the World Bank famously predicted 1,200,000 cases by 2000, approximately double the actual number that was later reported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and most international organizations.
In 1987, it was placed under the aegis of the National AIDS Control Committee, a group composed of scientists and members of civil society organizations.
[5] The single most controversial element of the Brazilian HIV/AIDS response remains the free, universal provision of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs), including protease inhibitors, starting in December 1996 with Law No.
[5] ART was traditionally considered too expensive in resource-poor settings in developing countries, which are believed to have a poor capacity for adherence to complicated treatments.
[9] Some authors also argue that if the decline in hospital admissions and ambulatory care are taken into account, the policy of universal provision of ART has accumulated a net savings of approximately $200 million.
For example, a 2002 World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, states:[11] A 2003 study, using data from diagnoses occurring in Brazil in 1995 and 1996, found that antiretroviral treatment was the single greatest predictor of survival.
[14] Brazil's response has been characterized by reaching out to groups which account for a high percentage of AIDS transmission, including relationships with non-governmental organizations.
"[23] In addition, Article 68 authorizes "parallel importing" from the lowest international generic bidder, effectively destroying the patent holder's monopoly as well.
In addition, the U.S. placed Brazil on the "Special 301" watch list, opening the possibility for "unilateral sanctions," and companies individually threatened to pull out of the Brazilian market altogether.
[25] Brazil argued that the law only applied to cases where the patent holder abuses their economic power, a loophole specifically allowed by the TRIPS agreement.
[29] The agreements signed on November 14, 2001, at the WTO conference in Qatar reaffirmed that TRIPs "does not and should not prevent Members from taking measures to protect public health" including "medicines for all.
[30] In 2005, Brazil wrote to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) declining to condemn prostitution, effectively rejecting the remainder of a grant for $48 million between 2003 and 2006.
"[31] Brazil considered its partnerships with prostitutes—in distributing contraceptives, educating the public about the disease, and voluntary testing—critical to its overall AIDS prevention strategy.
[31] Brazil's Health Minister, José Serra, said in 2001, "Our example could serve as a model for other countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, even Africa.
"[33] Some scholars, such as Levi and Vitória, argue that the Brazilian model can only be applied to other countries with similar level of economic development and civil society sectors.
