States' obligations in relation to access to medicines: revisiting Kenyan High Court decision in P.A.O and others v Attorney-General and another

Abstract

Recently a Kenyan High Court in P.A.O and others v Attorney General and another (hereinafter P.A.O) handed down a judgment in relation to sections 2, 32, and 34 of the Anti-Counterfeit Act vis-à-vis Kenya's obligations under international human rights law and the Constitution. For many Africans, access to medicines has remained a great challenge not least because of high prices mainly due to patent on these medicines. Although recent developments across Africa had shown that modest progress has been made in realizing access to medicines for people living with HIV, a great percentage of those in need of these medicines are not receiving them. One of the major obstacles to access to medicines in Africa is patent rights enjoyed by pharmaceutical companies on essential medicines such as anti-retroviral drugs.