The Human Rights Council’s 2015 Social Forum will take place from 18 February 2015 to 20 February 2015 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
As requested by the Council in the above-mentioned resolution, the 2015 Social Forum will focus on “access to medicines in the context of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including best practices in this regard “. (Source: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/SForum/Pages/SForum2015.aspx).
On Thursday, 19 February 2015, Knowledge Ecology International and Médecins Sans Frontières – Access Campaign are co-sponsoring a projection of the film, “Fire in the Blood” on the margins of the Human Rights Council 2015 Social Forum. Fire in the Blood will be screened on Thursday, 19 February 2015 in Salle XIV (Cinema) of the Palais des Nations from 18:30 – 20:30.
Fire in the Blood
When: Thursday, 19 February 2015 from 18:30 to 20:30
Where: Salle XIV (Cinema) Palais des Nations, Avenue de la Paix 14, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
The screening will feature a short panel discussion including: James Love (Executive Director, KEI), Katy Athersuch (Medical innovation and access policy adviser, Médecins Sans Frontières- Access Campaign’) and Dylan Mohan Gray, (Director, Fire in the Blood).
Registration details for the 2015 Social Forum are contained here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/SForum/Pages/SForum2015.aspx
An intricate tale of ‘medicine, monopoly and malice’, FIRE IN THE BLOOD tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the global south in the years after 1996 – causing ten million or more unnecessary deaths – and the improbable group of people who decided to fight back.
Shot on four continents and including contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu and Joseph Stiglitz, FIRE IN THE BLOOD is the never-before-told true story of the remarkable coalition which came together to stop ‘the Crime of the Century’ and save million of lives in the process.
As the film makes clear, however, this story is by no means over. With dramatic past victories having given way to serious setbacks engineered far from public view, the real fight for access to life-saving medicine is almost certainly just beginning.
A film by Dylan Mohan Gray, narrated by William Hurt (Source: http://fireintheblood.com/)
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The provisional program for the Social Forum 2015 is enclosed below.
Human Rights Council
SOCIAL FORUM
18 – 20 February 2015
Room XII, Palais des Nations, GenevaProgramme of Work
18 February 2015
10h00-10h30 Opening of the Social Forum
• Opening remarks by H.E. Mr. Faisal Bin Abdullah Al-Henzab, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Social Forum
• Remarks by Ms. Jane Connors, Director, Research and Right to Development Division, OHCHR
• Remarks by H. E. Mr. Joachim Rücker, President of the Human Rights Council10h30-11h00 Keynote speaker(s)
• Dr. Deqo Mohamed, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation, Somalia
• Mr. Stephen Lewis, Co-Founder and Co-Director, AIDS-Free World, USA, and Chair, Stephen Lewis Foundation, Canada
• Dr. Luiz Loures, Deputy Executive Director, UNAIDS11h00-11h30 General statements by participants
11h30-12h15 Overview of access to medicines in the context of the right to health
Moderator: Ms. Jane Connors, Director, Research and Right to Development Division, OHCHR
• Dr. Zafar Mirza, Coordinator, Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, WHO
• Mr. Martin Khor, Executive Director, South Centre
• Dr. Dainius P?ras, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
• Mr. Jorge Bermudez, Vice-President of Health Production and Innovation, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Ministry of Health, Brazil12h15-13h00 Interactive dialogue
13h00-15h00 LUNCH BREAK
15h00-15h45 Improving health delivery systems in challenging contexts
Moderator: Mr. Willem van de Put, Director, Healthnet TPO
• Dr. Abdul Majeed Siddiqi, Head of Mission, HealthNet TPO Afghanistan
• Mr. Mahmoud Daher, Head of Gaza Sub-Office-oPt, WHO
• Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, Head of Caritas Internationalis Delegation to the UN in Geneva15h45-16h30 Interactive Dialogue
16h30-17h15 Access to medicines for women and children
Moderator: Ms. Jyoti Sangera, Chief, Human Rights and Economic and Social Issues Section, OHCHR
• Dr. Raffaela Schiavon, General Director, IPAS Mexico
• Dr. Tarek Meguid, Associate Professor, State University of Zanzibar (Tanzania)
• Dr. Lingli Zhang, Professor and Director of Pharmacy, West China
Second University Hospital, Sichuan University17h15-18h00 Interactive Dialogue
Reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the UN in Geneva19 February 2015
10h00-10h45 Intellectual property rights and access to medicines
Moderator: Mr. Nirmalya Syam, Programme Officer, Innovation and Access to Knowledge, South Centre
• Ms. Lisa Forman, Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• Ms. Thamara Romero, Legal Officer, Intellectual Property Unit, Division on Investment and Enterprise, UNCTAD
• Mr. Antony Taubman, Director, Intellectual Property Division (TRIPS, Government Procurement Agreement, Competition Policy), World Trade Organization
• Ms. Petina Gappah, Counsel, Advisory Centre on WTO Law10h45-11h30 Interactive Dialogue
11h30-12h15 Lessons learned and emerging challenges in the global response to AIDSModerator: Dr. Mariangela Simao, Director, Department on Rights, Gender, Prevention and Community Mobilization, UNAIDS
• Mr. Shiba Phurailatpam, Regional Coordinator, Asia Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (APN+)
• Ms. Alma de Leon, Regional Director, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Latin America and the Caribbean
• Mr. Tenu Avafia, Policy Adviser, HIV, Health and Development Practice, Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP12h15-13h00 Interactive Dialogue
13h00-15h00 LUNCH BREAK
15h00-15h45 Patient-centred approaches to access to medicineModerator: Ms. Mara Bustelo, Chief, Sustainable Human Development Section, OHCHR (TBC)
• Ms. Regina Kamoga, Executive Director, Community Health and Information Network Uganda
• Mr. Dmitry Borisov, Executive Director, Equal Right to Life, Russia
• Dr. Noel Hayman, Clinical Director, Inala Indigenous Health Service, Brisbane, Australia
• Dr. Amit Sengupta, Associate Coordinator, Peoples Health Movement, India15h45-16h30 Interactive Dialogue
16h30-18h00 Breakout discussion groups
• financing access to medicines and universal health coverage
• intellectual property regimes and access to medicines
• health systems strengthening, capacity building, community engagement, and empowerment20 February 2015
10h00-11h30 Plenary discussion
• reporting back from breakout discussion groups (30 minutes)
• drafting of preliminary conclusions and recommendations (1 hour)11h30-12h15 Innovative approaches to promoting access to medicines
Moderator: Dr. Philippe Duneton, Deputy Executive Director, UNITAID
• Mr. Geoff Adlide, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
• Ms. Nana Boohene, Procurement and Supply Specialist, The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
• Mr. Rohit Malpani, Access to Medicines Campaign Director of Policy and Analysis, Médecins Sans Frontières
• Mr. Mads Holst Jensen, Senior Adviser, The Danish Institute for Human Rights12h15-13h00 Interactive dialogue
13h00-15h00 LUNCH BREAK
15h00-16h30 Good practices in promoting access to medicines (Roundtable)
Moderator: Mr. Craig Mokhiber, Chief, Development Economic and Social Issues Branch, OHCHR
• Ms. Andrea Coleman, CEO, Riders for Health
• Mr. Damiano de Felice, Strategic Adviser to the CEO, Access to Medicine Foundation
• Mr. Heiko Hering, Senior Public Health Officer, Public Health and HIV Section, UNHCR
• Ms. Soraya Ramoul, Director, Access to Health, Novo Nordisk
• Mr. James Love, Director, Knowledge Ecology International
• Mr. Greg Perry, Executive Director, Medicines Patent Pool
• Mr. Robert Matiru, Senior HIV Portfolio Manager, UNITAID
• Mr. Hans Rietveld, Director, Market Access & Capacity Building, Novartis Pharma AG
• Mr. Frank van Rompaey, UNIDO16h30-17h15 Interactive Dialogue/Closing Statements
17h15-17h30 Summing up, Conclusions and Recommendations by the Chairperson-Rapporteur
Closure of the Social Forum