ITPC-MENA
A network of advocates and activists based in Marrakesh (Morocco) and active across the MENA Region, ITPC-MENA covers a broad spectrum of activities with the aim of ensuring optimal access to treatment for HIV and related conditions to all those who need it.
Founded in Morocco in 2015, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition in the Middle East and North Africa (ITPC-MENA), is part of the “ ITPC family”. Its mission: to enable access to quality healthcare for people living with HIV (PLHIV). In order to achieve this, the association, together with its partners, gathers data on the coverage and quality of services, their compliance with international recommendations and develops advocacy strategies that aim to improve existing programmes in the MENA region.
For the coalition of activists, PLHIV themselves have a major role to play in improving access to care. This is why ITPC-MENA keeps them continuously updated about quality standards and progress in healthcare and arranges regular meetings between the pharmaceutical industry and those defending access to medicines in the region. In this way, education about treatments but also about research and advocacy around the impact of intellectual property on access to medicines are the distinguishing features of the non-profit. The association has also developed the first Arabic-language mobile app on the prevention and treatment of HIV (Life4me+).
Key Figures
ITPC-MENA
years in the fight for equity in access to treatment
countries of intervention
regional workshops organised every year
Close up
Advocacy around intellectual property and access to treatments is at the heart of ITPC-MENA’s mission
Ensuring that national laws and strategies on protection of international property are commensurate with the country’s level of development but also compatible with the interests of populations and their ability to access medicines – this is the daily struggle led by ITPC-MENA since its creation. Through its research work, the non-profit contributes to making information relating to the protection of medicines by patents public. The organisation is thus a rampart against the claims that seek to delay the entry of generic drugs onto the market at an affordable price. By hosting MENA-CAB, ITPC-MENA has actually succeeded in the ambitious goal of bringing together the pharmaceutical industry and defenders of access to medicines around the same table. Finally, the coalition has been a key player in the struggle against the free trade agreement between the European Union and the countries of the Maghreb, which includes unfair rules on intellectual property and harm access to medicines.
The MENA platform of the Global Fund, a key tool for participation of civil society in HIV programmes
A space for collective participation in key decision-making process, this platform seeks to improve the impact of the Global Fund programmes on the fight against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in the MENA region. The platform covers three main areas: information, assessment and translation. Via this platform, ITPC-MENA informs community-based groups – notably those from within the key populations – about procedures, changes and opportunities to get technical assistance around funding from the Global Funds in the region. The organisation assesses the needs of civil society and the quality of Global Fund programmes in responding to them. Finally, it simplifies and translates all of the documents relating to the actions of the Fund in Arabic, French and English. By coordinating the activities of the platform, ITPC-MENA contributes to effective involvement of civil society and key populations in the national dynamics surrounding the fight against all three pandemics.