Today, the ability to innovate is an essential factor in survival for individuals, firms
and nations. Although it is true that development cannot and must not be halted, it is not
always easy to adapt to change or manage its consequences within a framework of global
equity that ensures real progress shared by all.
The discoveries of basic research are being transformed every more rapidly into
applications that modify the organization of society and production, as well as individual
patterns of life and thought. But advances in knowledge do not always produce tangible
benefits for everyone.
The path of innovation is more fraught than ever with ethical, economic and political
choices, which call for a closer relationship between researchers and decision-makers.
Such links must also seek to guarantee equal opportunities to all and ensure that an
improvement in the quality of life of a few does not increase inequality at the global
level.
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The Need for Humanitarian Action:
A Challenge for Modern Society
Milan, 3 December 1999
Centro Congressi Cariplo
The world is increasingly global from the point of view of
economics, communications and the mobility of people. Governments increasingly tend to
shift the responsibility for solidarity to the private sector or international NGOs, a
development that clashes with the need to help the poorest.
These changes influence humanitarian action, since its very existence is a consequence of
the breakdown of solidarity and the tensions between universal and individual needs.
Rejecting the inevitability of these changes and their consequences is the driving force
behind any humanitarian action.
Humanitarian intervention is directed at the victims of war, above all the multitude of
"forgotten" conflicts; at the poorest countries, where the vast majority of
people have no access to health care; at the people in all countries, even the richest,
who have been shunted to the sidelines of society.
We offer medical assistance to improve the condition of these people, but this is not
always sufficient to protect and defend them in especially dramatic situations. It is not
possible to "humanize" everything. Beyond a certain point, it is necessary to
fight the very causes of these situations. This is a key reason for recounting the work
being done: although all victims may deserve the same attention, this does not mean that
their stories are identical.
This is also the essence of humanitarian action in non-conflict situations. Its role is to
shine light on problems, to attempt a solution – on a scale necessarily limited by
the resources of private organizations – and to spur politicians to take action.
It is in this spirit that we have launched a campaign to increase access to medicines in
poor countries. Having realized that we were unable to care for the sick who were coming
to us for help because the needed drugs were unavailable or too expensive, we have refused
to accept that these people cannot be treated solely because they do not have the
necessary resources and are therefore of no interest to the market. It is matter of social
responsibility and justice.
For this reason we called on political authorities to take action, to understand that
medicines are not just another consumer product and that the necessities of health must
take precedence over commercial considerations. We need to relaunch research and
development of drugs for infectious and tropical diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, etc.).
The World Trade Organization should also create an exception for human health: life-saving
drugs against AIDS, infectious diseases and so on that still enjoy patent protection must
become economically affordable for the people of the poorest nations. |
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