A year ago the drug companies and the SA Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association withdrew their lawsuit against government. The activists were jubilant the supposed major barrier to treatment was removed that the drug companies would no longer be in a position to profiteer.
It has taken government a full year, after much legal pressure from the activists, to make a positive statement on the provision of drugs. The activist pressure against government at least addressed the real problem. But we should question the validity of the activist claims that it is the drug companies' high prices and patents that block access.
