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Sunday, May 19, 2013
Journalism and Communication for Global Change
Bitter Pill: Obstacles to Affordable Medicine
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India
No Sweet Consolation for Women Diabetics
The disease itself may not discriminate on the basis of gender, but when it comes to healthcare for patients with diabetes, women in India find themselves at a disadvantage compared to men.
Stockout Risks of South Africa’s New ARV Programme
“If I don’t have my pills, I don’t know what will happen. I will probably get sick again, very sick. Maybe I will die this time,” says Xoliswa Mbana* as she readies her four young children for school in the impoverished informal settlement of Masiphumelele, in Cape Town, South Africa.Q&A: A Healthy Verdict from India
India’s refusal to grant patent protection for the anti-cancer drug Glivec, developed by Swiss drugmaker Novartis, is a victory for the developing world, which depends on low-cost exports of generic medicines from the Asian giant, said public health specialist Germán Velásquez.
New Patient Profile and Treatment for Chagas Disease
Chagas disease, the third most serious infectious disease in Latin America, is developing a “new face” and moving into urban areas, while a new treatment may offer hope for millions of sufferers.Brazil Enters New Era of Co-Production of Anti-AIDS Drugs
A new kind of public-private partnership will begin in 2013 in Brazil to produce an antiretroviral drug, through a technology transfer agreement that will be in effect until the patent expires in 2017.
Q&A: How Innovative Funding Combats HIV/AIDS
On World AIDS Day, the fact that the number of children newly infected with HIV continues to decline is welcome news to UNITAID, the International Drug Purchase Facility hosted by the World Health Organisation. But UNITAID is also well aware of how much more remains to be done for children already living with the disease.
Maldives Talks Condoms
For an orthodox Islamic country, the Maldives has made remarkable progress in halting the spread of HIV in the Indian Ocean archipelago through bold awareness programmes and the distribution of condoms.
‘Cambodia Can’t Afford New Dengue Vaccine’
Public health experts in Cambodia are unenthused by reports of trials for a dengue vaccine conducted in neighbouring Thailand, saying it will be too costly for those who need it most – children in the least developed and developing countries.
‘Misoprostol – Must for Reducing Maternal Mortality’
“I can’t imagine life without misoprostol,” says Dr. Azra Ahsan, a gynaecologist and obstetrician who has, for more than a decade, been using the controversial drug to stop women from bleeding to death after delivery.
AIDS Spreading Fast Across East Europe
Despite pledges from governments across Eastern Europe and Central Asia to fight HIV/AIDS – one of the eight Millennium Development Goals – the region has the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemic.
Pakistan’s Measles Deaths Hinder Global Goals
Measles outbreaks, which have killed at least 100 children in Pakistan’s militancy-hit border areas since May, have prompted calls by experts for better cooperation in territories adjacent to Afghanistan with international immunisation campaigns.
Malnutrition Implicated in Child Killer Epidemic
Health experts are blaming high malnutrition levels for an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) that has killed more than 54 children in impoverished Cambodia since April.
Family Planning Essential for Development
Improving family planning to avoid unwanted pregnancies in developing countries, as well as assuring girls’ access to education, and women’s participation in the economy, are essential components of a sound development policy, according to Western experts and African activists.Death Stalks Pregnant Women in East Myanmar
From a wooden, weather-beaten building on the edge of this border town, Mahn Mahn charts dangerous missions deep Myanmar (also Burma) for the 2,000-odd health workers under his wing.
Newborn Deaths Expose India’s Low Health Budget
A year after the Indian government began paying pregnant women to deliver their babies in state-run facilities, the pressure is showing on the country’s understaffed and poorly equipped hospitals.Next Page »
After years of local and global battles, cheaper generic medicines have become more available, bringing medical treatment within reach of especially poor people. But the right to access affordable medicines seems under renewed attack. Laws have been introduced in east African countries which threaten the production and distribution of generic drugs. The inclusion of intellectual property rights in trade rules through the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) in 1994 hold very real dangers. Most pertinent among these is poorer countries being prevented from serving the health care needs of their populations because of prohibitions on the production or importation of cheaper generic medicines. This has life-or-death implications for people living in the poor South, including in African states. On this page, IPS Africa publishes articles that interrogate these issues.
