SC and AU capacity building for African countries on effective use of TRIPS flexibilities to protect public health

Title:  South Centre and African Union capacity building for African countries on the effective use of TRIPS flexibilities to protect public health

Date: 18-19 December, 2019

Venue: Cape Town, South Africa

Organizers: South Centre and African Union

Progress in health is essential to the achievement of the Agenda 2030 and African aspirations for 2063 as agreed by the Assembly of the African Union. The Agenda 2030 includes a commitment to “provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all.” The objective of the seminar is to increase the institutional capacity of patent offices and relevant authorities in African countries to effectively use the flexibilities of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to protect public health. The goal is to ensure that the patent system is supportive of public health goals and innovation while avoiding creating unnecessary barriers to access to affordable quality medicines and generic competition. The seminar will foster dialogue among patent authorities and discuss policy options as well as provide specialized training to patent examiners on substantive examination of pharmaceutical patents. The seminar responds to the demand for increased institutional capacity building in the area of patent law and public health in the African region, as well as growing concerns of the proliferation of patents that protect minor, or obvious, variants of existing drugs or processes.