Air tax for buying drugs touted in India
Source: Agencies |
June 6, 2012, Wednesday
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MILLIONS of the world's poorest people could get easier access to life-saving drugs if India introduces an air-ticket tax to help fund purchases of cheap medicines for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, a UN official said.
UNITAID, a UN agency that negotiates for cheap medicines from pharmaceutical manufacturers to treat deadly diseases, is lobbying countries such as India to join its air-ticket levy initiative, which began in 2006.
Under the program, countries put a nominal amount on the cost of air tickets, which funds UNITAID to buy drugs for patients in the developing world. Ten countries have imposed the levy, generating US$200 million annually for cheap medicine.
"What we want in India is a similar system by which a very small contribution which is painless to the traveler can be applied to large numbers of travelers," UNITAID Executive Director Denis Broun told AlertNet.
"Since air traffic is very high in India, the small amount of levy makes a huge difference."
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis kill 4.4 million people each year, UNITAID says. Approximately 14.2 million people are in need of anti-retroviral drugs globally, yet more than half cannot afford them.
Broun, said he was proposing a tax of 10 rupees (18 US cents) on domestic tickets and US$1 on international flights. He said discussions were at an early stage.
UNITAID, a UN agency that negotiates for cheap medicines from pharmaceutical manufacturers to treat deadly diseases, is lobbying countries such as India to join its air-ticket levy initiative, which began in 2006.
Under the program, countries put a nominal amount on the cost of air tickets, which funds UNITAID to buy drugs for patients in the developing world. Ten countries have imposed the levy, generating US$200 million annually for cheap medicine.
"What we want in India is a similar system by which a very small contribution which is painless to the traveler can be applied to large numbers of travelers," UNITAID Executive Director Denis Broun told AlertNet.
"Since air traffic is very high in India, the small amount of levy makes a huge difference."
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis kill 4.4 million people each year, UNITAID says. Approximately 14.2 million people are in need of anti-retroviral drugs globally, yet more than half cannot afford them.
Broun, said he was proposing a tax of 10 rupees (18 US cents) on domestic tickets and US$1 on international flights. He said discussions were at an early stage.
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