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Tuesday, July 28, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Bitter Pill: Obstacles to Affordable Medicine
HEALTH-UGANDA: EU Supports Law Threatening Access to Medicines
The European Union (EU) is funding the drafting of Uganda’s controversial Counterfeit Goods Bill, a proposed law that has caused an outcry as it threatens access to life-saving generic medicines in this low income East African country. Some 90 percent of medicines used in Uganda’s health-care system are imported, of which about 93 percent are generics.
HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Prescription Drug Abuse on the Increase
Twenty-two-year-old Sara Allen* uses prescription medication to get high.
Q&A: "Intellectual Property Rights Do Not Assure Quality"
Kenya and Tanzania have recently passed anti-counterfeit laws and regulations that risk blocking legitimate generic medicines instead of fake products, which is the purported purpose of these laws. Uganda is now considering a similar bill.
KENYA: Anti-Counterfeit Law “Violates Right to Life and Health”
Kenya’s new Anti-Counterfeit Act will be challenged on Mar 8 next year in the country’s Constitutional Court on the basis that it violates the right to health. The petitioners, three people living with HIV, argue that the law confuses generic and fake medicine. This could cause a health crisis as generics constitute 90 percent of medicines used in Kenya.HEALTH: Uganda’s Counterfeits Bill Threatens Access to Medicine
Uganda is considering an anti-counterfeit bill which analysts say will impair the country’s ability to import and export cheap but effective generic medicines. Activists fear that the bill, once enacted, will deny Ugandans access to safe, effective, quality and affordable generic medication which currently forms the bulk of Uganda’s medicine imports.HEALTH: EU Blocking Medicines for the Poor
The European Union is intercepting big shipments of medicines on their way to poorer countries, according to a new report published Tuesday.HEALTH-AFRICA: Financial Crisis Scapegoat for ARV Stockouts?
Shortages in supply of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs are caused by lack of political will and bad supply management, not by the global economic crisis, health experts say.
HEALTH-SAO TOME: The Forest is the Pharmacy
If you live in São Tomé, a good investment in your health is to plant a po-sabom tree (Dracaena aroborea) in your backyard. Leave space: it can grow up to 20 metres high, with sword-shaped leaves.
HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: Wheeling and Healing
Every weekday morning, a stylish procession leaves the offices of MaAfrika Tikkun NGO in Delft, Cape Town; bumps and jolts through the gravel entry gates; then hits the tar and scatters into every corner of the township...
HEALTH-AFRICA: Neglected Diseases Under the Microscope
Neglected diseases, neglected people. Marcel Tanner uses the phrase to emphasise the attitude of drug developers towards tropical diseases that primarily affect the marginalised poor.HEALTH: WHO Urges Universal Rotavirus Vaccine
The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged Friday that rotavirus vaccines be included in routine immunisation schedules of countries around the world in order to provide global protection against the most common and lethal form of diarrheal disease.HEALTH-KENYA: Contraceptives: Stock-Outs Threaten Family Planning
Kenya's new national plan for reducing maternal mortality recognises the importance of a steady supply of contraceptives across the country. In principle, contraceptives are already available for free or heavily-subsidised at government clinics and hospitals, but for women who rely on public health system, the reality is somewhat different.« Previous Page
