近十年來，國際疾病防制與藥品取得等公共衛生議題，獲得國際間的高度關切。由於藥品的生產與取得，和這些重大公共衛生議題具有密切的關聯性，WTO下的TRIPS協定便因為藥品專利，而與公共衛生議題產生連結。「杜哈公共衛生宣言」的成立，便可顯示 WTO 在國際關注下，對於這個新興議題的努力。

At its meeting of 6 December 2005, the Council for TRIPS decided to submit, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article X of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, the attached proposal for a decision on an amendment to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.