In mid July 2006 Group of Eight leaders called for more AIDS funding to improve monitoring and to give more people access to treatment. However, Eric Friedman, policy adviser for Physicians for Human Rights, raised practical concerns, including the need to double the existing number of health care workers to improve the AIDS situation worldwide. The G8 agreement calls for "building the capacity of health care systems in poor countries through recruitment, training and deployment of public and private health workers," but Friedman said the statement does not say how those goals will be achieved.
Health equity in economic and trade policies
G8 leaders call for more AIDS funding
Associated Press, 16 July 2006
G8 must engage China to tackle Africa's poverty
Darlington R, Mepham D: Institute for Public Policy Research, 3 July 2006
In advance of the anniversary of the G8 summit in Gleneagles (6-8 July), the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is urging G8 countries to rethink their development strategies for Africa in the light of China's growing role. David Mepham, head of ippr's International Programme, said: "...Managed well, China's economic presence could bring real benefits to Africa, with cheaper goods for African consumers and new sources of investment and aid. But managed badly, China's role in Africa could be damaging for development and worsen standards of governance and human rights.
Market forces promote inequitable health care
Sanders D, Reynolds L: The Sunday Independent, 16 July 2006
We are pleased that a paediatrician of the stature of Professor Oliver Ransome supports the argument in our letter that equitable distribution of health care is necessary for child health. But Professor Ransome also suggests that equitable distribution of health care can somehow be achieved without impinging on the freedom of those who can afford to choose private care. We challenge the view that such a market-based approach can promote equity in health care in South Africa today.
Understanding the links between agriculture and health
Hawkes C, Ruel MT: 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture and the Environment 13 (1), May 2006
Policymaking initiatives in agriculture and public health are often pursued in a parallel and unconnected fashion. Yet coherent, joint action in agriculture and health could have large potential benefits and substantially reduce risks for the poor. Among development professionals there is growing recognition that agriculture influences health, and health influences agriculture, and that both in turn have profound implications for poverty reduction. This recognition suggests that opportunities exist for agriculture to contribute to better health, and for health to contribute to agricultural productivity. The policy briefs presented here draw on a wide body of research conducted within and outside the CGIAR. They provide a historical context to the links between agriculture and health, deal with specific health conditions and agricultural systems, and examine the challenges to linking agriculture and health in policy.
World leaders must deliver on AIDS promises
Dillon J: Toronto Star, 14 July 2006
Stephen Lewis, UN Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa, calls the failure of the G8 to live up to their promises a "scandalous betrayal". The triumphalism of Gleneagles has given way to shattered dreams and broken promises. At Gleneagles, the G8 promised to cancel the debt of some poor countries and to double development assistance to Africa by 2010. Both initiatives would provide resources for treating people with AIDS. Tragically, too little was promised at Gleneagles; even less has been delivered. By the time G8 leaders reconvened at St Petersburg this month, another 3 million people had perished from AIDS-related diseases.
Carmageddon: The hidden war between motor cars and people
Reynolds L: Critical Health Perspectives 3, June 2006
There is a silent, ongoing, global war between motor cars and people. It is silent because, though it kills many times more people than armed conflicts and terrorist acts combined, it seldom hits the headlines in the way they do. It is global because, though it started in the rich world just over a century ago, it has spread throughout the world and is now spreading like wildfire through poor countries;or poor communities within rich countries.
Crunch time in Geneva: Pressure tactics in the GATS negotiations
Sinclair S: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 21 June 2006
At the December 2005 Hong Kong ministerial meeting, developed countries forced through a controversial set of services demands thay prepared the ground for a final push to expand the GATS. This new paper analyses benchmarks, plurilateral request-offer, domestic regulation and other pressure tactics so that non-governmental organizations, elected representatives, developing countries and ordinary citizens can intervene to counter them.
Developing countries propose new TRIPS clause to avoid bio-piracy
Shashikant S: Third World Network, 8 June 2006
A long-standing fight by several developing countries to amend the WTO's TRIPS Agreement to oblige members to get patent applicants to disclose the source of origin of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge took a step forward in early June when six countries proposed the text of new provisions to be added to the TRIPS Agreement. The paper takes forward in a text for amending the TRIPS agreement what several developing countries had for several years been arguing for in various fora within the WTO (as well as outside the WTO (for example, in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Intellectual Property Organisation).
Human rights and the establishment of a WIPO Development Agenda
3D: June 2006
Over the past two years, discussions on a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Development Agenda have provided a forum for Member States to challenge the current trends in intellectual property (IP) policy-making and work towards a system that is more consistent with development commitments and needs. The second session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals for a WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA), from 26 to 30 June 2006, will provide an opportunity for Member States to consider proposals in clusters of issues2 and submit a decision for a WIPO Development Agenda to the WIPO General Assembly in September 2006 that will dictate the future of these discussions.
Positions remain unchanged in TRIPS/CBD consultations
Raja K: Third World Network, 16 June 2006
A consultation held on 6 June at the WTO on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ended with positions among members remaining unchanged on the issue of disclosure of the source of origin of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. A paper was presented by Brazil, India, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand and Tanzania (joined by China and Cuba). But the US, Australia and others said that negotiation based on any text is premature, as there were differences in views.