e-alliance

Live the Promise Bulletin no. 6 / 2012

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:50:00 +0100

In this Bulletin...

Religious Leaders Call for Dialogue
Working Group on Resource Mobilization Launched
World Tuberculosis Day, 24 March
Member Spotlight: World YWCA
Global Plan to Stop Vertical Transmission
AIDS 2012 Pre-Conference Registration to
Open Soon
New Resources and Publications

Action Alert: Join in Global Week of Action to Protect India's Generic Medicines

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0100

Campaigners in India and Europe, including members of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, are calling for a Global Week of Action on the European Union (EU) – India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), 6-10 February 2012.

As part of the FTA discussions, negotiations on intellectual property have taken place in January and news reports indicate that they have “progressed” without details on what has been agreed. On 10 February, the EU and India will agree on and finalize the political framework for the FTA. Groups in India are very concerned about the intellectual property provisions that may affect the production and supply of essential medicines around the world.

At the EU-India Summit to be held in Delhi next week, the EU and India will agree on and finalize the political framework for the FTA. Campaigners for improved access to HIV drugs are worried – how have the IP negotiations progressed? Does the FTA include provisions that will seriously hamper India’s ability to manufacture safe, effective and affordable generic medicines and export these to other developing countries?

The Delhi Network of Positive People & Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit note that:

In 2001, India’s generics brought prices down from $15000 per person per year to $350 for first line AIDS medicines.
80% of people living with HIV in developing countries are on Indian generic ARVs.
Over 90% of pediatric AIDS medicines are supplied by Indian generics.

Since 2007, people living with HIV in India and across the world have been resisting the pressure of the EU on India to sign an FTA with provisions on intellectual property that will endanger access to generic medicines from India. Groups in India are asking that we once more show the EU and the Indian government that lives cannot be traded away!

Their Demands

REMOVE:

Investment Rules, as they enable foreign companies to take the Indian government to private courts over domestic health policies like measures to reduce prices of medicines.
Border Measures, as they will deny medicines to patients in other developing countries with custom officials seizing generic medicines in transit.
Injunctions, as they undermine the independence of the Indian judiciary to protect right to health of patients over the profits of drug companies.
Other Intellectual Property Enforcement Measures, as they put third parties like treatment providers at risk of police actions and court cases.

DON’T BRING BACK:

Data Exclusivity, as it delays the registration of generic medicines and will not permit the placing of affordable versions of pediatric doses and combinations of “off-patent” medicines on the market. IT’S NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE TRIPS AGREEMENT!
Patent Term Extension, as it will extend patent life beyond 20 years.

The EU states that these two provisions are off the table. It must keep its word!

In the coming days, groups from around the world and in India will demonstrate against the EU-India FTA. They are asking you to join them.

What you can do:

Organise your own rally: You can organize rallies or demonstrations in front of European Commission offices in your countries to voice your opposition to their aggressive negotiations on intellectual property in FTAs. Don't forget that the EU is also negotiating FTAs with many other developing countries and making the same demands.
Raise awareness/media action: Even though you might not be able to support the actions in India financially or physically you can help by spreading the word about their – and your – concerns. Write an editorial in your local paper. Hold a press conference. Issue a press release or press statement.
Write to the Indian Government: You can also write to the Indian Government asking it to stay strong and not give in to the demands of the European Commission. India, as the pharmacy of the developing world, has an obligation to its citizens as well as patients across the world. Please try and meet the Indian ambassadors in your countries and convey to them how important it is that India reject ALL the demands of the EU. Millions of lives depend on this.
Write to your own government: Public health programmes around the world depend on generic medicines from India. Ask your government to tell the EU and the Indian government to keep IP out of the FTA negotiations.
Share your actions: PLEASE send the Indian campaigners photos, articles, videos of all your actions immediately and FOLLOW the actions of other groups here: www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-EU-India-Free-Trade-Agreement/144687138908841 and here donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com
Donate: In order to organize these protests, the campaigners rely on funding. Any financial support is welcome. No amount is too small – or too big! If you know organizations, which are interested in funding, if you want donate to the protest, please contact donttradeourlivesaway@gmail.com.

For information on the EU-India FTA see:
ITPC: www.itpcglobal.org/index.php
MSF’s Europe Hands Off Our Medicine Campaign: www.msfaccess.org/hands-off-our-medicine-campaign
Oxfam: www.oxfam.org/en/policy/trading-away-access-medicines

Action Alert: Call for Case Studies on Conservation Farming/Agro-ecology

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:19:00 +0100

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) is inviting submission of case studies concerning conservation farming/agro-ecological projects or activities that illustrate the effectiveness of these approaches both for enhancing environmental sustainability and for increasing yields.

A few emblematic case studies will be selected for presentation at an event to be organized by the EAA and its partners at Rio+20/United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held in Rio de Janeiro on 20-22 June 2012.

Case studies should be submitted initially in outline form only, a maximum of two pages, with links or references to any additional supporting information, images or video. The submitters of the selected case studies will be invited to develop these outlines into presentations for the purpose of the planned event at Rio+20.

Case study outlines should be submitted in electronic form to ccampeau@e-alliance.ch by the deadline of Monday, February 20, 2012.

Background

The first goal of the EAA’s ‘Food for Life’ campaign entails advocacy for food production, trade and distribution systems that are just, participatory and democratic, are environmentally, economically and socially sustainable, and support the right of all people to adequate, healthy and culturally appropriate food.

EAA members have increasingly focused attention on ‘agro-ecological’ conservation farming methods, and on the growing body of evidence of increased yields as well as of ecological sustainability.

During the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban in November-December 2011, EAA – jointly with ACT Alliance – held a side event “Can we achieve food security in a climate constrained world”, in which sustainable smallholder agriculture was profiled. It is hoped that a side event convened in the context of the Rio+20 Conference could be a useful initiative for further profiling and promoting sustainable, smallholder-based, agro-ecological methods of food production, and for sharing new evidence of their efficacy in both environmental and food security terms.

EAA members and partners have a wealth of experience in food production using these methods in many different parts of the world. The EAA hopes to present a distillation of this experience at Rio+20, in order to help focus attention on sustainable smallholder-based agro-ecological methods of food production, rather than only on the prevailing industrial-scale artificially-enhanced agricultural production methods.

Addressing agriculture in the UNFCCC negotiations

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:20:00 +0100

At the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Durban in December 2011, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) members were encouraged by negotiators to submit their recommendations for safeguarding the rights of farmers and the wellbeing of the planet. This call was articulated at the EAA-ACT Alliance side event ‘Can we achieve food security in a world challenged by climate change?’ in comments made by Dr George Wamukoya, Facilitator for the Informal Group on Sectoral Approaches under the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA). The call was confirmed in the final outcome document of the work of the AWG-LCA and the official request for “the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to consider issues related to agriculture at its thirty-sixth session”.

The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) work programme is yet to be established and the language in the LCA outcome document is ambiguous. Thus the upcoming work in this area will be guided by what Parties and accredited observer organisations – that’s us! – want.

While we did not obtain the desired outcome at COP17 of the establishment of a broad work programme on agriculture under either the COP itself or the AWG-LCA, we did achieve a space in which to input our concerns. This is the first time that the UNFCCC has adopted a decision on agriculture and that this issue is on the official agenda of the SBSTA.

Any submissions by EAA member organisations to the UNFCCC secretariat will be considered by the SBSTA working group at the intercessional negotiation session in June 2012, in hopes of generating a decision at COP18/MOP8 in Qatar in November/December 2012.

Climate-friendly agriculture is critical to adaptation, mitigation and food security, particularly in developing countries, and we need to ensure that the rights of the farmer and the biodiversity of the land are protected. Increased investment in agriculture is needed to assist smallholder farmers in adapting to the effects of climate change. Promoting smallholder-based agriculture is an important mitigation measure, and we need to make sure that it obtains the attention that it deserves within the UNFCCC negotiations.

The time to act is now to help prepare a decision for COP18!:

EAA will join with other faith-based organizations in making a submission to the UNFCCC secretariat in time for the 5 March 2012 deadline. In developing this submission, we hope to engage experts on climate and agriculture within our networks. Let us know if you are interested in being part of the working group that will be drafting the submission.

Once the submission is prepared, we will send it out via an Action Alert. We will invite individuals and organizations to then take the detailed contents of the submission to their governments. EAA members and partners will be invited to share their views with government representatives. Members need to call on them to ensure that policies are designed and implemented to reduce emissions from the agricultural sector and to support small-scale food producers and agro-ecological food production with the necessary financial and technological resources.

Agriculture continues to be addressed in other UNFCCC discussions such as the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), the National Adaptation Programmes of Actions (NAPAs) and Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) but needs to be mainstreamed in climate change negotiations. Agriculture is seen by some as merely a context for carbon credits and offsets. However, agriculture is the only sector that encompasses challenges and opportunities in relation to both mitigation and adaptation.

A background paper on agriculture in the UNFCCC negotiations information is available at www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/food/climate-change-and-the-right-to-food/.

Press Release: Global Fund - Fight is Not Yet Over

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:46:00 +0100

As The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria marks its 10th anniversary and announces major leadership changes, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) Executive Director Peter N. Prove comments on the significance and future of the Global Fund in the response to HIV and AIDS.

Since its establishment in 2002, the Global Fund has been instrumental in massively scaling up the international response to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and has promoted a high degree of transparency and accountability in its operations and those of its partners. Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine, who has announced his resignation after five years in the post, has led the Global Fund to its current central position as a world leader in ensuring treatment, support – and life – for millions of adults and children suffering from these three diseases.

As the organization itself faces a leadership transition and structural changes, it is essential that governments maintain and increase their investment in the Global Fund, and that the Fund continue to be able to support the work of effective evidence-based HIV responses at national levels - including those of churches and related organizations, which currently receive a very low level of Global Fund resources relative to their actual engagement in the fight against HIV.

We have enormous respect for the transparency with which the Global Fund has identified and is seeking to address misuse and corruption related to its funding. No misuse of funds intended for people affected by or at risk of these diseases can be tolerated, and ongoing vigilance against such misuse is a necessity.

For many it seems that the sense of “emergency” has passed, particularly in addressing HIV and AIDS. Indeed, we have always needed to ensure that the mechanisms put in place to respond to the complex issues around the HIV pandemic can be sustained until the disease is eradicated. But the fight is not yet won, and the global HIV response will, for the time being, need continuing and increasing support.

Certainly no one should be under the misapprehension that the HIV emergency is over. New infections are occurring at a rate faster than people are getting access to treatment, and people are continuing to die for the lack of that treatment.

But an AIDS-free generation is finally within our reach, and without increased funding today, all the progress we have made may be lost and the HIV pandemic resume its tragic course.

As The Global Fund prepares itself for its next decade, we pray that the political will to save lives will be renewed and reinvigorated, so that we can indeed achieve zero deaths, zero new infections, and zero stigma and discrimination.

For more information contact: Sara Speicher, sspeicher@e-alliance.ch, +44 7821 860 723.

Share your experiences of dialogue between religious leaders and people living with HIV

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:14:00 +0100

Today, a survey has been launched to gather information to develop and strengthen opportunities for dialogue between networks of people living with HIV and religious leaders, faith-based organisations, and faith communities at country level. The survey has been developed by the Strengthening Religious Leadership Multi-Faith Working Group convened by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), in collaboration with the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with and affected by HIV (INERELA+) and UNAIDS.

The survey is part of the follow-up to the High Level Religious Leaders' Summit on HIV held in March 2010. One of the desired outcomes of the Summit was to build bridges between the religious leaders and different sectors – including people living with HIV (PLHIV) and key populations as a foundation for new and strengthened collaboration in the response to HIV. Therefore, the concept of developing a framework for dialogue between religious leaders and PLHIV networks at the national level has emerged as a first step in creating further such safe spaces for dialogue.

To inform the development of this framework, this survey aims to gather:

priorities for joint action
details of past or current collaborations/dialogues and lessons learned
Recommendations for future work
Other related information or thoughts

How to respond to the survey

Please click here to fill out the survey. It should only take 20 minutes of your time. Please note that the survey is intended especially for:

People living with HIV
Religious leaders
Religious leaders living with HIV
Members and staff of networks of people living with HIV
Staff or representatives of faith-based organisations
Members of local faith communities and organisations
Those with practical experience in the role of religious leaders and faith communities in the response to HIV

Please share this survey with appropriate individuals and networks and encourage them to complete the survey.

All information gathered will be kept confidential and anonymous.

We apologise in advance if some of the questions make you uncomfortable. The intention is not to cause discomfort, but rather to assess - as objectively as possible – the prospects for dialogue and the points where dialogue may be more difficult.

Regrettably, the survey is only currently available in English. The survey will be online until 17 February 2012.

Background on the High Level Religious Leaders' Summit on HIV

In order to engage religious and spiritual leaders from many of the world's major religions in stronger, more visible and practical leadership in the response to HIV, a Summit of High Level Religious Leaders on the Response to HIV was held in The Netherlands on 22-23 March 2010.

During the Summit, participants affirmed in their concluding statement the "renewed sense of urgency" to prioritize and strengthen the response to HIV. Such a response includes "holistic prevention" in addition to reaching universal access to treatment, care and support. The statement called for the "universal respect for the human rights of all people living with and affected by and at risk of HIV infection" and the "respect for the dignity of every human being". Please click here for more information.

Summit participants also drafted and signed "Together We Must Do More: My Personal Commitment to Action" , which not only detailed a series of commitments but set out a timeline for periodic reporting every 18 months on how each signatory has sought to fulfil the Personal Commitment.

To support and oversee the follow-up to the Summit, including the development of a framework for dialogue between religious leaders and people living with HIV, a Multi-Faith Working Group on Strengthening Religious Leadership in the Response to HIV has been set up under the facilitation of the EAA. For more information on the working group, click here.

Fast for Life! Reflect on Global Food Waste and Post Harvest Losses

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0100

Whether it is for one day – notably Ash Wednesday (22 February) – one week, or for the entire Lenten period, we welcome you to “Fast for Life” and reflect on our consumption patterns and on global food waste.

More than one third of the food produced on this planet for human consumption is wasted. This amounts to approximately 1.3 billion tons of lost food per year. In developing countries, food loss occurs mainly at the point of production, harvest, post-harvest and processing, due to a lack of infrastructure, technology and training – while in developed nations, waste results mainly from the behavior of consumers and retailers.

Christians must not be passive witnesses to the fact that 15 million children worldwide are dying of hunger per year, especially when we consider the amount of food that is going to waste. In a world challenged by climate change, a rising population, and a global economic crisis, we need to be smarter, more efficient, and fairer about the way we produce, distribute and consume our food.

Think about global food security and the injustice of waste:

All of the hungry people in the world could be lifted out of undernourishment on less than 25% of the food that is wasted in the United States and Europe alone.

Think about our planet’s increasing thirst:

The irrigation water used around the world to grow food that is wasted would be enough for the domestic needs (200 litres per person per day) of the expected number of people on the planet by 2050.

Think about how poor countries could be less reliant on food aid:

Better investment in storage, processing and distribution infrastructure in the developing world could prevent post-harvest losses. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa 25% of fruits and vegetables are lost during processing and packaging, and another 17% during distribution.

Think about climate change:

10% of rich countries' greenhouse gas emissions come from growing food that is never eaten.

By eliminating waste in the food chain, we could reduce the amount of new food that we will need to produce in half. This is important considering that we will need to feed 9 billion people by 2050 from the resources of our one planet.

What you can do

Join by taking either individual or collective action:

Organize a worship service on Ash Wednesday or on a Sunday during Lent using EAA prayers or other reflection resources about food, hunger and waste at http://www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/food/sustainable-consumption/fast-for-life/

As a family, set up a “waste tracker” sheet on your refrigerator or near your waste bins. Designate one family member to be the “waste buster” for the week and mark down how much food was wasted each day (i.e. fresh produce that went bad, food bought that expired and had to be thrown away, cooked food that wasn’t eaten). At the end of the week, discuss as a family ways to reduce this waste and options for disposal, such as composting.

Familiarise yourself with the chain of people involved in getting the food from the ground to your table. Invite them to answer the ‘Waste not, want not’ questionnaire available soon in our 2012 Fast for Life resource library at www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/food/sustainable-consumption/fast-for-life/

Form a study group to look at the responses and come up with action that your community can take to reduce waste. Why not promote a community compost initiative or lobby for a waste reduction law?

Reverse your shopping list. Start by looking at what you have at home and how you can use it prior to going to the store for more food.

Pick up wasted groceries from the local grocer and host a ‘Cooking from Scraps’ night at your local community centre or youth club. Teach teens how to make ‘recipes from waste’ at after school groups and the difference between the ‘sell by date’ and the ‘consume by date’.

Host a cooking competition with local cooks/restaurateurs to see what innovations can be created with leftovers.

Support farmer cooperatives to help smallholder farmers

1) be more efficient with their planning by knowledge sharing,

2) assist each other in times of risk and in marketing their products, and

3) work together to receive credit from agricultural financial institutions or advance payment from purchasers.

Discuss these issues with your government representatives, and advocate for investment in infrastructure and transportation and proper waste management.

These ideas for actions have been suggested by our members. Use ideas that work best in your context, be creative in adapting them or making up your own! Send in your suggestions for actions and stories of best practice in reducing food waste to ccampeau@e-alliance.ch

Johnson and Johnson betrays AIDS patients this Christmas

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:36:00 +0100

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) has expressed deep disappointment that Johnson and Johnson (J&J) will not license its HIV drugs to the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP). By not doing so, the pharmaceutical company has “selfishly put profit over people’s lives” states Peter Prove, EAA Executive Director.

J&J holds the patents for several key drugs needed by millions of people living with HIV. These include components of the fixed dose combinations recommended by the World Health Organization as well as some of the newest and most effective HIV drugs. As David Deakin, Chair of the EAA’s Access to Treatment Working Group and HIV Programmes Manager, Tearfund, UK, says; “By not joining the MPP, J&J is blocking collaborative efforts to get life-saving medicines to the 7.6 million people today who do need them but do not have them, let alone the 55 million people estimated to need them by 2030.”

Ad hoc voluntary licensing - J&J’s preferred alternative to the MPP - will not expand access to treatment or reduce prices to HIV drugs in the sustainable and holistic manner that the MPP would. “Piecemeal voluntary licensing will only help some people some of the time. A cynic might say that companies can use it to get good PR without addressing the root of the problem,” says Prove. “The reality, however, is that patent barriers are still stopping affordable drugs from getting to the people who need them most.”

The EAA’s “Live the Promise” campaign on HIV and AIDS maintains that the MPP currently offers the best chance there is to speed up access to treatment, including for tens of thousands of children living with HIV. “The announcement from J&J is a bitter blow for all families affected by HIV this Christmas,” says David Deakin. “We urge J&J to reconsider their decision and will be mobilizing our supporters to demand the same.”

For more information contact: Sara Speicher, sspeicher@who-needs-spam.e-alliance.ch, +44 7821 860 723.

Action Alert: Plan Now to Attend AIDS 2012

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:54:00 +0100

The EAA is working with its members and partners to ensure strong, visible and coordinated faith participation in the 19th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) that will take place in Washington, DC, USA from 22-27 July 2012.

Save the Date: Interfaith Pre-Conference

“Taking Action for Health, Dignity and Justice: The Interfaith Pre-Conference on HIV” will be held on 20-21 July 2012 at Howard University in Washington, DC. The pre-conference will begin with a networking reception, also at Howard University, the evening of 19 July. The interfaith pre-conference will offer opportunities for theological reflection, sharing of best practices, skills building, advocacy, interfaith collaboration and single faith reflection.

A Global Reference Group and Local Host Committee are working to put together a diverse, interactive program. Registration will open in January 2012, and a formal call for workshop submissions will also be issued at that time.

The pre-conference is hosted by national co-sponsors The Balm in Gilead and the Catholic Medical Mission Board. In addition to the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, international co-sponsors of the pre-conference currently also include the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with and/or Affected by HIV (INERELA+) and the Asian Interfaith Network on HIV and AIDS (AINA).

Visit http://iacfaith.net for more information.

Apply Now: Interfaith Chaplains Programme

Ten chaplains will be selected to participate in the Interfaith Chaplains Programme during AIDS 2012. The chaplains will lead prayer sessions in the Interfaith Prayer Room at the Washington Convention Center during the conference and be available for spiritual support and counseling to conference participants at designated times. Chaplains will benefit from a significantly reduced conference registration fee, but are responsible for covering their transportation, accommodation and visas fees associated with attending the conference.

An application form is available at http://iacfaith.net/interfaith. Or, for more information, contact Rev. Andrea DeGroot-Nesdahl at bishopadn@who-needs-spam.aol.com and Imam Dr Abdul-Malik Ali at taijiali@who-needs-spam.aol.com.

Get Involved in the Main Conference

AIDS 2012 registration is now open and participants are encouraged to register by 23 February to take advantage of early bird registration fees. Abstract submissions for AIDS 2012 and applications for the Global Village, Youth Programme and scholarships are also open and will close on 15 February. For more information, visit www.aids2012.org.

Accommodation in Washington

During both the Interfaith Pre-Conference and the International AIDS Conference, faith-based participants will have the opportunity to stay in dormitory accommodation at Howard University at a rate of US$ 40 per night. Dormitory rooms are equipped with air conditioning, internet access and a mini refrigerator. Meal plans will also be available. More information on how to book a room will be available at http://iacfaith.net in early January 2012.

For faith-based participants wishing to stay in a hotel, the Local Host Committee especially recommends the Grand Hyatt, Westin City Center and Rouge Hotel. These hotels are convenient to both the Interfaith Pre-Conference and AIDS 2012. Individual hotel reservations may be booked through http://www.aids2012.org/Default.aspx?pageId=319.

Stay Updated

For more information about the interfaith pre-conference and faith-based activities at AIDS 2012, visit http://iacfaith.net. You can also subscribe to the EAA’s IAC 2012 email list from the http://iacfaith.net.

Let's Help Johnson & Johnson Do the Right Thing!

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:49:00 +0100

Johnson & Johnson is expected to decide next week whether it will enter into formal negotiations with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) Foundation for the licensing of their HIV drugs. In order to upscale access to HIV treatment, it is essential that they do so.

J&J has been a leader in the pharmaceutical industry's response to the HIV pandemic, and holds the patents for several key components of the fixed dose combinations recommended by the World Health Organization, as well as for some of the newest and most effective HIV drugs. But to remain a leader in the HIV response, J&J has to do its part to help those who cannot afford premium rates for treatment to obtain access to essential medicines.

Thanks to the unprecedented international mobilization against AIDS, 6.6... million people are now on antiretroviral therapy (ART). But another 7.6... million who need ART are still not receiving it.

In response to this challenge, the MPP Foundation was founded in 2010 to stimulate innovation and improve access to HIV medicines through the negotiation of voluntary licenses on medicine patents that enable robust generic competition and facilitate the development of new formulations. But it can only work if enough leading companies contribute their patents, and J&J is central to this picture.

J&J has been considering entering into negotiations with the MPP Foundation, but signs are that the imminent announcement will be negative, and a huge setback for improving access to HIV treatment.

Think of all those around the world who, as a result of lack of access to life-saving medicines, will die today and every day until universal access to treatment is achieved.

But there's still a chance for us to help J&J do the right thing. If you use Twitter, tweet the message below!

@JNJComm Come on Johnson & Johnson! Do the right thing! Join the Medicines #PatentPool! bit.ly/tc20Pg @e_alliance

Either cut and paste the above message or give us a Retweet!