For South Africa, it was a matter of survival. But unemployment in South Africa is around 30 percent. Meanwhile, up to 20 percent of the nation's population between the ages of 15 and 49 is HIV-infected. An average of 200 infected babies are born in the country daily. The demand for treatment is gigantic.
Money is scarce.
Lives are on the line. As for the law, World Trade Organization rules let nations in emergency straits ignore patents and use generics under certain conditions. And the United States has promised it won't seek trade sanctions against African countries that take this course. It's conceivable that 39 drug firms do. I don't think they do.