China has joined the India-Brazil-Africa axis on the issue of access to medicines.
While India and Brazil have long been votaries of bringing disease coverage under the Doha Declaration on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rightsand public health, China is the latest to join the group.
The Africa group had recently walked out of the negotiations on Trips and public health in Geneva, protesting against the pressure from the US to limit disease coverage under the Doha Declaration to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other infectious diseases.
The group is now looking for a wider disease coverage, including diabetes, cancer, vaccines and diagnostic kits included under the terms of the agreement.
A liberal interpretation of the Doha Declaration on Trips and public health is being favoured by the group.
While the Indian government has not assumed a leading role in the negotiations on access to medicines, it has established contact with a number of African countries, saying it supports their stand.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry has also independently written to the governments of several African nations stating that it will help to develop a generic drug industry in those countries.
The major players in the discussion are the US, where the major pharmaceutical companies are based, and the Africa Group the segment which needs these medicines the most.
The discussion seems to be turning into a tug of war between the developing nations and the US, which is trying to woo the African nations by giving them sops in other areas.
In an attempt to protect their pharmaceutical industries, the developed countries have been trying to dilute the gains made at Doha on the issue of public health by limiting the scope of the declaration.
While the US is pushing for limited disease coverage, Japan is against inclusion of vaccines and the European Union wants more safeguards, which will make the procedure ineffective.
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