MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid agency called on Tuesday on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resist EU demands to limit the production and export of generic medicines from India.
"With the EU-India trade negotiations set to resume, there’s still so much at stake for access to medicines. This EU-India Summit is where Prime Minister Modi needs to stand firm against Europe and tell them ‘no, India is not going to shut down the pharmacy of the developing world – too many lives are on the line," South Asia regional head of MSF’s Access Campaign Leena Menghaney was quoted in the agency's statement as saying.
"India is such a vital source of affordable, generic life-saving medicines on which millions of people around the world rely, that any blow to the pharmacy of the developing world would have disastrous consequences… The reality is we wouldn’t be able to treat as many people if it weren’t for affordable generic medicines from India," MSF International President Joanne Liu added.
The agency warned that any delay or interruption in the treatment for many diseases caused by the efforts of the European Union to enforce intellectual property rights in India could have serious health consequences.
