AFTINET recently joined 367 other NGOs and civil society groups around the world in signing a letter that calls on all WTO Members to honour their TRIPS obligations under Article 66.1 and to unconditionally accord the LDC (Least Developed Country) Group an extension of the transition period as requested in their duly motivated request to the TRIPs Council.

Granting the LDCs the transition period requested is critical, if LDC are to fully benefit from flexibilities available under the TRIPS agreement. LDCs are the most vulnerable countries, and face many challenges. An extension of transition period will give LDCs the flexibility they need to address the numerous challenges they face such as access to medicines, access to knowledge, access to seed, access to environmentally sound technologies etc.

Read the letter here