A Powerful Tribute to Professor Hakima Himmich: A Life of Courage, Justice, and Resistance

14 mai 2025 2 Views

🗓️ On May 13, 2025, during the 3rd Global Summit on Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines (GSIPA2M2025) held in Marrakech and co-organized by ITPC-MENA, a deeply emotional moment captured the audience. A powerful tribute was paid to Professor Hakima Himmich, a true icon in the fight for health and social justice – in Morocco, across the MENA region, and far beyond.

Journalist Amine Boushaba opened the tribute by reflecting on his journey as an activist, shaped from the very beginning by Hakima’s mentorship.

« Tonight, we are not only celebrating a great figure. We are honoring a life driven by extraordinary courage, a radical love for justice, and unshakable commitment to human dignity, » he said.

One after another, Othoman Mellouk, Nadia Rafif, and young activist Othmane Marrakchi from ITPC-MENA took the floor. Their heartfelt, personal, and political testimonies painted the portrait of an exceptional woman: one who dared to confront the powerful, denounce injustice, and support an entire generation through the hardest battles – especially the fight against patents and trade laws that deprive millions of people of life-saving medicines.

A physician specializing in infectious diseases and founder of ALCS – the first AIDS-focused association in the Arab world – Prof. Hakima Himmich has been a pioneer in every struggle for treatment access.
In her speech titled “Remember to Resist Better”, she powerfully recalled the key moments of this fight: from her early days in an under-resourced hospital in Casablanca, to the first ARV campaigns, tax exemptions on medicines, and the rejection of unfair trade agreements.

She emphasized that the battle for access to treatment is not a technical issue – it is profoundly human and political:

« No one should die just because treatment exists but is not accessible, » she affirmed with unwavering conviction.

But beyond strategies and political wins, it was her moral strength and loyalty to the most marginalized – people who use drugs, sexual minorities, sex workers, migrants – that left the deepest mark.

“Her love is a political act. An act of resistance,” said Nadia Rafif.

The standing ovation that followed her speech was more than a tribute – it was a collective promise: to remember, to keep fighting, to pass the torch.

At ITPC-MENA, we are proud to count Prof. Hakima Himmich among our allies, mentors, and sources of inspiration.
Her legacy lives on – in every fight for equitable access to treatment, in every voice that rises against injustice.

As she told the youth in the room: