Emory University Gathers Global Experts to Address Legal, Medical,
and Economic Challenges of Fight Against HIV/AIDS
ATLANTA -- A multinational cast of industry leaders, policy makers and
leading scholars will gather at the Emory University School of Law April
3-4 for a public symposium addressing the legal, medical, public health
and development challenges of fighting the global HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Called the NEXUS Symposium,
the event is an interdisciplinary forum on the impact of international
patent and trade agreements in the global fight against HIV & AIDS.
Keynote speaker for the symposium will be Stephen Lewis, United Nations
special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Among the more than two dozen
speaker/participants will be:
- Claudia Adkison, executive
associate dean, Emory University School of Medicine
- Harold Berman, Robert
W. Woodruff Professor of Law, Emory Law School
- Alex Coutinho, director,
The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Uganda
- James Curran, dean, Rollins
School of Public Health, Emory University; director, Emory Center
for AIDS Research; former director of the CDC Division of HIV/AIDS
- Madhu Deshmukh, senior
technical advisor, CARE International
- Julian Fleet, acting
chief, Policy and Coordination Unit, UNAIDS
- Peter Lamptey, president,
Family Health International Institute for HIV/AIDS
- Robert Lindsay, director,
Coca-Cola Africa Foundation
- Timothy Mastro, deputy
director, Global AIDS Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Ruth Okediji, Edith Gaylord
Harper Presidential Professor, Oklahoma University School of Law
- Martha Rogers, professor,
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University; director,
Center for Child Well-Being of the Task Force for Child Survival
- Len Rubenstein, executive
director, Physicians for Human Rights
- Raj Shah, chief policy
analyst, senior economist, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USA
- Debrework Zewdie, global
HIV/AIDS coordinator, World Bank
- Paul Zeitz, executive
director, Global AIDS Alliance
The symposium will address
questions such as:
- Is there a long-range
formula for success against HIV/AIDS in the developing world?
- Can a point be established
where human rights considerations trump intellectual property rights?
- How can developing nations
encourage the production and sale of HIV/AIDS drugs while ensuring
these medicines are not inappropriately used or diverted to other
countries?
- In what ways can the
global community more effectively enforce the World Trade Organization's
TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property) agreement?
The event is being organized
by the Emory International Law Review, and sponsored by Emory Law School
and Care International.
"The combination of prohibitive
costs and rigorous drug regimens often places drug therapies beyond
the reach of many developing nations," says Peter Fischer, a member
of the Emory International Law Review and symposium chair. "The choices
made today regarding intellectual property rights and duties will undoubtedly
help shape the contours--for better or worse--of the epidemic in the
future."
For more information, or
to register for the symposium, contact the Emory International Law Review
at 404-727-5774, or visit the symposium web site at http://www.law.emory.edu/students/eilr/symposium/.
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