Brazil has a success story to share with the world. It was the first developing country to provide free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to its HIV-positive citizens, leading to a dramatic cut in AIDS deaths. By manufacturing its own cheap generic versions of branded medicines, it took on and defeated the big transnational drug companies.
Dr André de Mello e Souza of the Pontifica Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro played a pivotal role in developing Brazil’s policy on HIV treatment. Its history of health activism started during the 1980s democratization process and led to healthcare being incorporated into the 1988 Constitution as the right of the citizen and the duty of the state.
