Focus: Trans-Pacific Partnership and global health concerns

Doctors without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on Friday called for the removal of access to medicines provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, saying if not checked it could lock out a major chunk of the global population from receiving affordable medicines.

The TPP is a free-trade agreement (FTA), an agreement targeted at establishing a new Pacific trade zone and removing barriers with a view to promote international trade. The TPP is currently being negotiated by 12  countries from Australia to the USA. These nations include both developed as well as emerging economies, and account for about 40% of global gross domestic product. The meet in Maui starting next week is expected to seal the agreement.

The aim of the TPP is to strengthen trade associations by way of addressing issues like government procurement, intellectual property protection as well as the conduct of state-­owned enterprises.