Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or the BRICS group of emerging countries, have promised this week to improve access to low cost and high quality medicine for their citizens and called on developed nations to shoulder responsibility in helping the poor. The groundbreaking announcement came at a first time event gathering in the Chinese capital that acted as the first health minister level meeting for the BRICS group of nations. It was also attended by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization.

The five emerging countries together alone account for more than 40% of the world’s population.

The BRICS called on WHO members, especially developed countries, to boost funding for the organisation, while Brazilian health minister Alexandre Padilha told reporters that wealthier countries should “shoulder” responsibility.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said:

“We must guard against the enforcement which will deter generic competition. We cannot, therefore, let trade barriers and concerns for individual profiteering stand in the way of equitable and affordable public health services. International agreements that interfere with the use of flexibilities by BRICS nations and require TRIPS-Plus and other measures must therefore be resisted.”

The BRICS group is also concerned about the dollar and have plans for a revamped global monetary system that relies less on the dollar and for a louder voice in international financial institutions, in addition to stronger regulation of commodity derivatives to dampen excessive volatility in food and energy prices, which they said posed new risks for the recovery of the world economy.

The BRICS are worried that America’s large trade and budget deficits will eventually debase the dollar. They also begrudge the financial and political privileges that come with being the leading reserve currency.

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in April:

“The world economy is undergoing profound and complex changes. The era demands that the BRICS countries strengthen dialogue and cooperation.”

Burdened by heavy debt, the United States, the Euro zone and Japan are struggling to shake off the lingering effects of the 2008 global financial crisis. Rich countries will grow 2.4% this year and 2.6% in 2012, accourding to the International Monetary fund forecast.

A group statement said regarding public health concerns:

“We are committed to continue to collaborate in order to advance access to public health services and… support other countries in their efforts to promote health for all.”

A criticism is that the BRICS projections are based on the assumptions that resources are limitless and endlessly available when needed. In reality, many important resources currently necessary to sustain economic growth, such as oil, natural gas, coal, other fossil fuels, and uranium might soon experience a peak in production before enough renewable energy can be developed and commercialized, which might result in slower economic growth than anticipated, thus throwing off the projections and their dates.

The economic emergence of the BRICS will have unpredictable consequences for the global environment. Indeed, proponents of a set carrying capacity for the Earth may argue that, given current technology, there is a finite limit to how much the BRICs can develop before exceeding the ability of the global economy to supply.

Sources: The Social Science Research Network, The International Monetary Fund and The World Intellectual Property Organization

Written by Sy Kraft