由上述可知,身為開發中地區的拉丁美洲以及加勒比海都面臨著巨大的挑戰。對這些貧窮國家的人民而言獲得非專利的便宜藥物是對於改善他們公共衛生的必要步驟,因此了解開發中國家有什麼應對措施來抵抗藥物產業濫用智慧財產權是非常重要的。本論文的目的是要解釋拉丁美洲與加勒比海地區的國家,使用與貿易有關的智慧財產權協定所賦予的柔性條款,以改善他們國家的公共衛生所碰到的困境。並且在南南體系經濟合作的架構下分析拉丁美洲國家和其他第三世界國家在使用柔性條款時所共同碰到的困難,最後提供了以南南經濟體系地區合作框架來解決此難題的建議。 The technological transformation of the 20th Century had the effect of advancing the frontiers of science in many technological fields. In the medical and pharmaceutical field, in particular, major technological breakthroughs have been witnessed including the mapping of the human genome, antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and the second line treatments for tuberculosis and malaria. These dramatic developments have provided increasing hope for the realization of the right to health in the developing world. For the people in these regions, however, the reality on the ground is the opposite; treatable and preventable diseases continue to kill millions a year.
Today, despite significant scientific and technological developments, there continue to exist unacceptable inequalities in the health status of people between developed and developing countries as well as within developing countries. In this context, Latin America and the Caribbean, being a part of the developing world is also facing great challenges. Access to essential medicines is critical in this part of the world, it is important to understand what is being done to resist intellectual property rights abuse in the pharmaceutical sector. The objective of this study is to explain the obstacles Latin America and the Caribbean are facing in using the flexibilities inherent in TRIPS to seek access of medicines for their citizens, and also suggest some recommendations on how to overcome these obstacles through a south to south regional framework.