665. We thank South Africa for its communication to the Council. As a country that offers universal health and medical care, a constitutional right in Brazil, we reaffirm the importance of reaching the right balance between access to medication and the development of new treatments by the pharmaceutical industry.
666. The increasingly high prices of health products and therapies are not only the reality of several developing countries but also many developed country Members.
667. The latest multilateral initiatives on the promotion of transparency of costs of health products – such as the "WHO Technical Report on the Pricing of Cancer Medicines", the "WHO Roadmap on Access to Medicines and Vaccines", the "Transparency Resolution" adopted by the 72nd World Health Assembly, and the resolution on "Access to medicines and vaccines" adopted by the Human Rights Council, promoted or sponsored by Brazil - have relied on substantial support from a wide range of countries from different economic and geographical backgrounds.
668. While acknowledging that the matter of pricing of medicines is a complex one, involving questions relating to supply, taxation, infrastructure, or regulatory aspects, we should not refrain to acknowledge that patents, market practices and lack of data also play a significant role.
669. The WTO Multilateral Agreements and, consequently, the TRIPS Agreement were built upon a very fine balance of rights and obligations, where mutual concessions led to agreement. Therefore, discussions on the use of TRIPS flexibilities, including the provisions of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, which is an integral part of this fine balance, should not be considered politically sensitive.
670. Brazil remains committed to promoting access to quality, safe, effective and affordable health products, which we believe is an essential role of governments and multilateral organizations.
671. In this sense, it is fundamental that all interested actors – governments, civil society and the private sector – dialogue and contribute to creative solutions to achieve these goals.
