Suggested intro/cue material for presenter:

This week at the UN AIDS conference in Barcelona, the Brazilian government issued a challenge to the international pharmaceutical industry. It unveiled a plan to help other developing countries manufacture copies of AIDS drugs. The plan draws widely from Brazil's own experience since the mid-nineties, when it became the first country to sidestep patent laws on AIDS drugs by making cheap versions in state-owned laboratories. The policy has had huge success, enabling Brazil to distribute drugs free-of-charge to people living with HIV and AIDS, and to drastically reduce its AIDS death rate. Yet, until now, no other country has adopted the same policy - and today only 4 per cent of people living with HIV and AIDS in the developing world receive any drugs. A report from the international organisation, VSO, investigates why other countries have been unable to follow Brazil's example until now. From Sao Paulo, Andre Muggiati reports.

Download page for MP3 and Real Audio broadcast quality files (free registration required) http://www.interworldradio.org/audio/rad_show1.cfm?aud_i_id=239977