The march was organised by the Fix The Patent Laws Campaign, a coalition of about 40 civil society organisations and patient groups which include the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Doctors Without Borders and Cancer Alliance. Sehoma said the campaign has been calling for an amendment of the patent laws for more than ten years. Unequal access to Covid medication and vaccines has heightened the need to reform patent laws, she said. "We applaud the government for adopting the Intellectual Property Policy in 2018 because it makes important commitments to reforming patent laws and prioritising people's access to healthcare. But now the DTIC is holding onto the draft amendments and our patent laws remain unchanged since the policy was adopted," said Teboho Tenyane from TAC.

Source: The North Africa Journal November 10, 2021 15:39 UTC