Brazil Assists Mozambique HIV/AIDS Drugs Manufacturing

Brazil's foreign minister, Celso Amorim, has confirmed plans to begin manufacturing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in Mozambique. The proposals initially envisage a feasibility study for a new plant, as well as assistance with monitoring the quality of existing HIV/AIDS treatments used in Mozambique. Although the scheme was reported to have been shelved in 2003, in August 2004 Brazil cancelled its US$331mn bilateral debt with the Portuguese-speaking African country, and confirmed that construction of the new facility would proceed and that staff would be trained under a joint programme.

Brazil's HIV/AIDS treatment programme has been widely touted as a success, but it has proved controversial in recent years. In addition to threats to break patents on innovative HIV/AIDS drugs, the country has also attracted claims that it could export its surplus ARVs, many of which are produced by state-owned drugmakers. Although international patents have already expired on a significant share of such products, the country's ambiguous attitude to the principles of intellectual property protection has already alarmed many in the research-based multinational sector.