Trade Justice: Health is a Human Right
The 2006 US-Thai Free Trade Agreement Speaker Tour

Tour Photos

New! Tour Outcomes
Thailand's health ministry has approved the production of cheaper versions of patented anti-AIDS and heart disease drugs, including Kaletra, a drug that the US-Thai FTA Speaker Tour specifically focused on. ENGAGE is proud to have played an integral part in raising awareness about this issue and in supporting TNP+ in their efforts to ensure that the citizens of Thailand have access to high quality, affordable medicines. For a recent article about these developments from BBC News, click here.

Tour Overview
With the generous support of Oxfam America, ENGAGE presented a Speaker Tour to raise awareness about the United States-Thai Free Trade Agreement (US-Thai FTA) throughout the month of October 2006. The US-Thai FTA covers multiple trade issues, including foreign investment, government procurement, and intellectual property rights (IPR). The US-Thai FTA Speaker Tour focused on proposed IPR regulations included in the US-Thai FTA that would limit Thailand’s ability to produce and import generic versions of medicines and would jeopardize its access to high quality, affordable medicines.

ENGAGE, in collaboration with Oxfam America’s CHANGE Initiative and the Thai Network for People living with HIV/AIDS (TNP+), coordinated the tour. Tour stops featured panel discussions, congressional lobbying, movie screenings, potlucks at community centers, and other targeted educational activities. Speakers included a Thai NGO representative, a TNP+ representative and an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) expert.

The US-Thai FTA Speaker Tour took place from October 8 to October 29, 2006, just in time to put the issue on the 2006 election map. Click here to view the Tour Calendar.