Institute of Development Studies

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Browsing Institute of Development Studies by Subject "Accessibility"

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    Intellectual property rights in least developed countries: the implications of the trips agreement on accessing antiretroviral drugs in Tanzania
    (Unversity of Dar es Salaam, 2010) Shemdoe, Georges Silas
    This thesis presents findings of a research work conducted to examine the implications of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement to access Anti-Retro-Viral (ARV) drugs in Tanzania. The research instruments used included: documentary review, questionnaires, interviews and discussions. Purposeful sampling procedure was used. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS- programme and content analysis approach. The study revealed that Tanzania has not effectively utilized the TRIPS Agreement flexibilities though some policies have statements which support access to medicines and the Tanzania Patent Act has incorporated some of the TRIPS Agreement flexibilities. The study also found out that level of awareness on the TRIPS Agreement is low among Tanzanian officials, contributing to the failure to utilize the options available to ensure access to medicines. Furthermore, the study identified the factors hindering local ARV drug manufacturing. The major conclusion is that the issue of access to medicines, particularly in LDCs is still a challenge that these countries are experiencing. It is recommended: to establish mechanisms for taking advantage of the Doha Declaration to ensure access to drugs; to establish strong linkage between the institutions dealing with health and those dealing with IPR; and purposeful support should be extended to the local ARV drugs manufacturers.