I’ve been thinking long and hard about Bill Clinton’s stance in all of this. The headlines everywhere, from Reuters and AFP to Yahoo and local papers (and, ahem, this blog) have all said something along the lines of “Clinton Backs Thailand!” Seems like this is bending the truth a little. Initially, at face value, that is what it looks like, but it isn’t quite what has happened. This from TNA:

Former US president Bill Clinton has announced his full support for the kingdom’s decision to override patents on key drugs and provide easy access to essential medicines, Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla said.

Clinton hasn’t actually come out and explicitly said he is behind Thailand. Clinton is behind the ideal of providing cheaper medicine to countries around the world who need it. Clinton is against a hardline approach by pharmaceutical companies, but his purpose with that stance is not to help Thailand as part of some sort of PR campaign. He has also placed emphasis on negotiation, and not quick decisions. Surely in this sort of situation a compromise is needed, instead of a war of words across media channels.

Mongkol Na Songkhla has been in America, but it is only him, and not the former US president, who has been saying things like this: “Clinton explicitly gave Thailand … full support for its decision that will help poor people in the country gain access to medication.” Clinton has put himself on the side of 66 countries, and not just Thailand.

“Seven million people in the developing world are in need of treatment for HIV/Aids. We are trying to meet that need with the best medicines available today, and at prices that low and middle-income countries can afford.” (Clinton in The Guardian)

The Thai health minister has been a little too fast to make this entire issue all about Thailand; it is not, and it should never be that self serving. This issue is about reducing the price of pharmaceuticals for those that truly need it. Whether Thailand is one of those countries or not is the subject of much debate at the moment. Check out what Fonzi has to say for some convincing arguments.

Techno’ tags: Bangkok, Thailand, Generic medicine, Bill Clinton, World news