Madam Speaker, there were a number of valid points raised by the member. He has personal experience. I have talked to the member about his personal experience in sub-Saharan Africa.
There is the issue of medical infrastructure. It is one thing to have cheaper medicines but the medical infrastructure needs to be in place to actually deliver medicines to the people who need them. People need to be informed, as we do in this country, as to how they should take the medicines. There needs to be proper nutrition, proper diet and a proper water source for people to ingest the medicines so that the medicines do the good that they should be doing. That is certainly a valid point in terms of this whole effort.
Also the member raised a valid point about nations. The bill specifically addresses the least developed nations. There is an appendix that identifies the specific nations, but obviously, nations that are developed or that are developing very quickly, such as China and Russia, need to address the HIV-AIDS epidemic as well.
The member has worked with many companies in this field on a personal basis. We should recognize that many companies have already made some real efforts. First and foremost, GlaxoSmithKline in Africa has done a lot of work. Its infectious diseases centre does a lot of work with all of these infectious diseases. As well there are companies like Merck Frosst in Botswana. Those companies try to do all of it, provide the cheap medicines, medical infrastructure, the advice. They work with groups like Médecins Sans Frontières, which should be commended as well.