SAN FRANCISCO - The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) hails Pfizer's recent concession to provide free Fluconazole to all South African with HIV/AIDS and cryptococcal meningitis as a critical first step toward improved access to life-saving HIV/AIDS drugs. South Africa's Treatment Access Campaign (TAC), the group that spearheaded an international campaign against Pfizer to lower the price or provide a voluntary license to produce Fluconazole generically, received Pfizer's statement with enthusiasm. TAC is scheduled to meet with South Africa's Ministry of Health today in order to ensure the necessary cooperation so that corporate promises turn into actionable programs. South Africa is home to 4.5 million people with HIV/AIDS, hundreds of thousands of whom have deadly fungal infections curable by Fluconazole (trade name Diflucan). The drug is currently priced out of reach for most South Africans.

Among the demonstrators at the Pfizer offices in Johannesburg, where the official response to TAC's petition was presented on Monday, were leaders from COSATU and NACTU, two of South Africa's largest trade unions. "While Pfizer failed to meet our precise demands, they bowed to domestic pressure and international support. This is an example of how unity in action works," stated Zackie Achmat, one of the architects of TAC's Pfizer campaign. Mr. Achmat further emphasized the importance of keeping perspective in the face of this corporate coup. "Real progress would see Pfizer, as well as other multinational pharmaceutical companies, extend this offer to people in all of Africa and the developing world."

"The real impact of Pfizer's promise remains to be seen," cautioned Sydney Levy, IGLHRC's Campaigns Director. "The devil is in the details. How do we move from a charitable contribution of one drug for one disease in one country, to a comprehensive solution to the issue of access to treatment in the developing world? We cannot stop here with a false sense of relief."

"The importance of Pfizer's action is the precedent it sets for people living with HIV/AIDS in other countries to demand and receive affordable life-saving drugs," said HIV Program Coordinator, Karyn Kaplan. "But people shouldn't have to die by the thousands first, to prove the need."