The Echoes from AEFJN No. 30 - July August 2016 are now available online. NEWS on MEDICINES AND HEALTH - December 2010
The Progress of MDGs on Health in Africa |
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The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Report 2010 was prepared by the United Nations at the occasion of the Summit to Review the Progress made by the MDGs all over the world. We have chosen what regards the three goals related to health in Africa . Though there has been progress in some of them, in others there is still a long way to go to reach the target. |
Campaign “Europe, Hands Off Our Medicine!” |
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The campaign "Europe, Hands Off Our Medicine!" tries to convince the EC that is negociating Trade Agreements with India that the date exclusivity the EC asks and the lengthning of patent life would delay the market entry of generics. If generic manufacturers are forced to repeat clinical trials, this will also delay the production of generics. On top of that it would be ethically unjust to conduct such trials on patients when the data are already available. |
101214 Major push could end malaria deaths |
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The world could stop malaria deaths by 2015 if massive investment is made to ramp up control measures, including wider use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday. Progress has been made over the decade, with deaths estimated to have dropped to 781,000 last year from nearly 1 million in 2000, the WHO said in its World Malaria Report 2010. |
Sierra Leone - Malaria prevention |
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In Sierra Leone, Malaria is responsible for a quarter of all deaths and accounts for 40 percent of public health expenditures, 30-50 percent of inpatient admissions, and up to 50 percent of outpatient visits . To reduce this heavy burden on the health system – and improve public health – the government and its numerous partners have been issuing insecticide-treated bed nets to every pregnant woman and parent with children under five. |
Non-profits Develop New Meningitis Vaccine in Africa |
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A little nonprofit from Seattle called PATH together with some officials at the World Health Organization has developped a new vaccine against a deadly bug in Africa that the big pharmaceuticas companies weren’t interested in. People across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have already started getting their shots to protect them against this seasonal bug. |
101210 Does EU-India FTA Serve Mutual Interests |
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The EU-India FTA, shall be concluded in spring 2011. NGOs have warned against possible negative impacts with regard to access to medicine and food security. Despite assurances the IP provisions that impact access to medicines would not part of the deal. |
CONGO - Polio cases confirmed |
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At least 94 people have died, with 201 cases of acute flaccid paralysis reported in the Republic of Congo (ROC), since 5 November. Four cases have been confirmed as wild poliovirus type 1, says the UN World Health Organization (WHO). This is due to the fact that for the last 15 years, immunization campaigns have not been carried out due to the country's political instability. |
EU deal threatens HIV drug supplies |
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In a decade and a half since being diagnosed with HIV, Gangte, a 43 year-old living in New Delhi, has seen his illness transform from a death sentence into a manageable condition, thanks largely to the availability of cheap medicines produced in India... Seven years later, he says he is coming to terms with a new threat to his health: an international trade agreement being brokered between the European Union and India that medical experts warn could leave millions of HIV sufferers in developing world without the drugs they need to stay alive. |
Industry worried by WHO plans to evaluate active ingredients |
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WHO is starting a pilot where it will prequalify selected APIs because the globalisation of drug production has made it difficult to verify their quality. However, the pharmaceutical industry is concerned the pilot may increase company costs while a US think tank is worried it may take away from the WHO's core business. |
Factory closure could leave 7,000 babies without ARVs |
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Pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), which owns the French factory that produces didanosine, a second-line ARV for babies weighing less than 10kg, will shut down the plant in June 2010, stopping production of the drug until at least February 2011, when regulatory approval of a new United States-based manufacturing site is expected. Closing this factory means that 4,000-7,000 babies currently enrolled in treatment plans in developing countries through UNITAID [a funding mechanism for HIV treatment] could be left without the medicines they need. |
Seven Challenges in Development Aid for Health |
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This paper outlines seven challenges in development assistance for health, which in the current financial context, have become even more important to address. The paper then provides three suggestions for ways forward: - creating new mechanisms to hold donors to account, - developing national plans and - strengthening national leadership in health, and South-South collaboration……” |