THE QUEST FOR ACCESS TO MEDICINES AND THE EFFECTS OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT: AN APPRAISAL OF THE NIGERIAN SITUATION BALANCED AGAINST OTHER STATES.

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to find solutions to the access to medicine problem in Nigeria whilst still complying with the TRIPS Agreement. The study reveals that apart from the high prices of medicines, there are other major domestic factors such as the lack of social amenities, the failure of the pharmaceutical industry to become self reliant, counterfeit drugs and lack of recognition for traditional medicines which have contributed to the lack of medicines for HIV/AIDS and other opportunistic diseases that are a major public health problem in Nigeria.

In fulfilling the objective of this study, the thesis notes that many Nigerian laws are based on the British legal system; a historical analysis of the patent system in Britain and indeed Europe is therefore carried out. The historical analysis is relevant in recognizing how the patent concept developed and evolved into becoming one of the most powerful components of the multi- lateral trading system and why developing countries like Nigeria have struggled with the concept.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Nigeria, neglected diseases and counterfeit drugs are also examined with key emphasis on the Nigerian governments’ position on tackling the access to medicines problem. In that section an examination of the human rights approach to confronting the access to medicines crisis is conducted with a view of encouraging the respect and protection of fundamental human rights whilst still complying with the TRIPS Agreement.




Ultimately a comparative analysis of the Nigerian and Indian pharmaceutical industry is carried out in order to extract lessons which may be useful to the Nigerian government when initiating public health policies and amending its intellectual property laws which are presently out-of-date. In the end the thesis stipulates ways in which Nigeria can take advantage of the flexibilities of compulsory licenses and parallel importation within the TRIPS Agreement to gain access to medicines.