INTRODUCTION

The final and third country study conducted in this research is on Uganda. Uganda is classified as a low income country with a GNI per capita of US$500 (2010); it has a poverty headcount ratio of 24.5% of the population; a life expectancy of 53 years; and an under-five mortality rate of 98.9. Being a least-developed country it has high poverty and morbidity and mortality levels. Even so, it is one of the few African countries that has had declining HIV rates and performs above expected in its response to HIV/AIDS. The costs of antiretroviral medicines to manage HIV have decreased in the last two decades, although they are still unaffordable for many Ugandans. Most medicines are imported from countries such as China and India, and with the TRIPS transition period ending for India prices for second generation pharmaceuticals will most probably rise in the future. This is a serious problem as Uganda has limited drug manufacturing capacity.

Uganda is a member of the World Trade Organisation since January 1st, 1995, and therefore it is bound by the TRIPS Agreement. However, as a least-developed country, it benefits from the extension of the TRIPS transitional periods which allows it to implement TRIPS (except for articles 3, 4 and 5 TRIPS) until 1 July 2021. Uganda has already started the process of reforming its intellectual property system in order to bring it in line with the TRIPS’ requirements. In that regard, this chapter first examines whether and to what extent Uganda already provides patents for pharmaceuticals. Moreover, the question will posed whether the draft Industrial Property Bill fully implements TRIPS standards and flexibilities with a view to achieving a balance between access and protecting patents within their legal framework.

This chapter aims to examine the issue of lack of access to medicines from a least-developed country perspective. First, though, a closer look will be had at the problem of lack of access to medicines in Uganda from a least-developed country perspective (section 2).