Universal access to AIDS medicines: the brazilian experience1

This article focuses on the Brazilian policy for distribution of medicines to persons living with HIV/AIDS. It attempts to present readers with the social scenario in which this policy has been developed and implemented, and describes the history of how the epidemic has been dealt with in Brazil. Some historical references are mentioned in order to provide a better understanding of the principles underlying the Brazilian policy, which primarily result from the inevitable association between public health and human rights in the AIDS pandemic. Among such references are the Brazilian public health movement, the creation of the Unified National Health System (SUS) under the country’s 1988 Constitution, and links between the government and civil society organizations (CSO) in Brazil. An analysis of the international scenario provides an idea of the role and repercussions of the Brazilian STD/AIDS Program. The article describes the sequence of events beginning with the 13th International AIDS Conference in 2000 in Durban, South Africa, through the approval by the World Trade Organization (WTO) of a separate Ministerial Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and Public Health in order to help readers grasp the importance of social and political mobilization in this process, culminating with the victory by developing countries at the 4 WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in relation to increased flexibility in the TRIPS agreement.