European Union officials have unveiled a plan to ensure that discounted antiretroviral drugs and other medicines earmarked for developing nations are not diverted back to wealthier nations to be sold at higher prices, the AP/Wall Street Journal reports. Under the proposal, pharmaceutical companies would have the option of registering and placing logos on shipments of discounted drugs slated for developing countries. The different packaging would help distinguish the cheaper drugs from higher-priced medicines destined for pharmacies in wealthier nations.
Equity in Health
E.U. Officials Unveil Plan to Regulate Shipping of Discounted AIDS drugs
global fund needs billions more
After an initial burst of high-profile donations and pledges, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria is now running low on funds necessary to finance programmes against the epidemics which kill an estimated 16 000 people per day. A board meeting said the fund would need an additional US$2 billion next year, and an additional $4.6 billion in 2004 as a result of the growing capacity of countries to absorb the resources and expand effective programmes.
MALAWI: UNFPA Stresses Reproductive Health Care Needs Amid Food Crisis
Slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Malawi and preventing the nation's already high maternal mortality rate from climbing must be addressed as an integral part of the humanitarian response to Southern Africa's famine, the U.N. Population Fund have warned. Widespread hunger and a related cholera epidemic have caused maternal death rates to rise sharply this year.
Senegal: President Sacks Head of Aid Group
Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade has announced the dismissal of Latif Gueye, a Senegalese citizen and head of the humanitarian organization -Africa Helps Africa, on national television, accusing him of committing "extremely serious errors" for his alleged role in trafficking AIDS drugs that were meant for Africa but were sold in Europe. "It is unfortunate that medicine meant for African AIDS patients is diverted and sold at higher prices in Europe," Wade has said
Further details: /newsletter/id/29389
Situation in Southern Africa
Second Regular Session of UNICEF Executive Board, September 2002
Eastern and Southern Africa continues to be plagued by deepening poverty, continued armed conflicts and an increasingly devastating HIV/AIDS catastrophe. Given current trends the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved in the region, or in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. And that means that these goals, endorsed by so many conferences, will not be achieved globally. In addition to all this, Southern Africa is experiencing a terrible crisis, manifested by extreme food shortages. It is important to understand that these different crises are interconnected and constantly reinforcing each other.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29394
south africa: KZN HIV/AIDS money still out in the cold
It is still not clear whether people living with HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal will ever see any of the $72-million granted to the province in April by the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM). The Global Fund has indicated that from this week it will start to disburse money to projects approved in its first round of applications – but unless procedural problems surrounding the KZN grant are cleared up, this province’s money will not come through. Health Minister Dr Manto Tshabalala- Msimang wants the $72-million to be distributed to all nine provinces and says the Global Fund violated its own rules by awarding the money directly to the KZN consortium, the Enhancing Care Initiative, when the application should have gone through the SA National AIDS Council (SANAC).
U.N. Says Essential Drugs Not Sufficient
Life-saving medicines are not available to one-third of the world's population despite a long international campaign for wider access to essential drugs, the World Health Organization have said. In the 25 years since WHO drew up its essential drugs and medicines list, the number of people able to obtain those medicines has doubled, but there remains "a huge unfinished agenda," said Jonathan Quick, the head of the U.N. agency's project.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29352
U.S. May Abandon Support of U.N. Population Accord
The Bush administration, embroiling itself in a new fight at the United Nations, has threatened to withdraw its sup- port for a landmark family planning agreement that the United States helped write eight years ago. The reason for the threat is contained in two terms that the administration contends can be construed as promoting abortion. The terms - reproductive health services and reproductive rights - figure in the final declaration of the United Nations population conference in 1994 in Cairo, which embraced a new concept of population policy based on improving the legal rights and economic status of women. The declara- tion has since been endorsed by 179 nations. But during a population and development conference in Bangkok this week, the American delega- tion announced that Washington would not reaffirm its support for the Cairo "program of action" unless the disputed words were changed or removed, United States and United Nations officials said.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29427
Unsafe Sex Ranks Second in WHO List of World health risks
Unsafe sex is the second-largest health risk worldwide, according to a World Health Organization report released recently. The report, titled "Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life," lists the top 10 major health risks worldwide that together account for approximately 40% of all deaths. The number one international health risk is being underweight, which results from a lack of food and can contribute to low birthweight infants and other health problems. According to the report, both underweight and unsafe sex are "far more prevalent" in developing nations than in developed nations.
WHO: The World Health Report
The World Health Report 2002, officially launched on 30 October, represents one of the largest research projects ever undertaken by the World Health Organization. The report, subtitled Reducing risks, promoting healthy life, measures the amount of disease, disability and death in the world today that can be attributed to some of the most important risks to human health. It then goes on to calculate how much of this present burden could be avoided in the next 20 years, opening the door to a healthier future for people in all countries.