The Competition Commission in South Africa has found that pharmaceutical firms GlaxoSmithKline South Africa and Boehringer Ingelheim have contravened the Competition Act of 1998. The firms have been found to have abused their dominant positions in their respective anti-retroviral (ARV) markets. For press releases from the Competition Commission, the Treatment Action Campaign and GlaxoSmithKline, please click on the link below.
Equity in Health
drug firms abuse DOMINANT position in arv market, commission finds
Further details: /newsletter/id/30050
Drug Firms Say Easing Patent Restrictions Could Hurt Research
Leaders of the international pharmaceutical industry said yesterday that if global trading rules on patents are loosened, it could negatively impact research and development of AIDS drugs.
Drugs, youth and the fairer sex in the face of AIDS 2002
Access to treatment, women and young people, those were the key points of the 14th International Conference on AIDS held in Barcelona, Spain. More than half of new infections occur among young people between the ages of 15 and 24 worldwide, yet young people's needs and concerns are rarely taken into account when planning strategic interventions to halt the spread of HIV. This was clear in regards to the number of young people attending the conference; out of the 15,000 delegates only 200 were young people.
DYING FOR TREATMENT -THE TAC CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE CAMPAIGN
This Briefing document is intended to help TAC activists and supporters to understand the background to TAC's decision to embark on a civil disobedience campaign in March 2003. Hundreds of pages could be written about TAC's efforts to persuade government to work with civil society on an HIV/AIDS treatment programme - but this is just a summary. In addition, although there is a great deal of independent research and information that could be cited to support TAC's demands, this document refers only to government's own research and policy statements to show how, in reality, the reluctance to commit to a treatment plan, including anti-retroviral medicines, contradicts its own findings, policies and constitutional duties.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29694
Dysentery spreads in Zimbabwe
Four people died of dysentery last month in northern Zimbabwe in what appears to be the first outbreak of the disease outside the capital, reports said. An outbreak of the highly contagious diarrhoeal disease was reported earlier this month in Harare and its satellite town of Chitungwiza. Two hundred people were taken to hospital.
E.U. Officials Unveil Plan to Regulate Shipping of Discounted AIDS drugs
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.
Early child development: strategies to ensure children achieve their potential
Engle PL: The Lancet 369 (9557): 229-242, 2007
Over 200 million children under five years old in developing countries do not reach their development potential. Whilst risks such as stunting, iodine-deficiency, anaemia and inadequate cognitive stimulation are known, evidence suggests that maternal depression, exposure to violence, environmental contamination and malaria are further potential risk factors. The researchers identify factors that are consistently associated with effective programmes and identify a need to establish globally accepted monitoring indicators for child development and for more evaluation. Despite the evidence that comprehensive early development programmes are effective in increasing disadvantaged children’s chances of success, government investment remains low. At the current rate of progress, the disparity between rich and poor countries in pre-school attendance will increase.
Early life opportunities for prevention of diabetes in low- and middle-income countries
Hanson MA, Gluckman PD, Ma RCW, Matzen P and Biesma RG: BMC Public Health 12(1025), 23 November 2012
Research has shown that if prospective parents lose weight and reduce weight gain during pregnancy, this may lower the risk of their unborn children from developing non-communicable diseases in later life. Interventions have been launched in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to get these adults to lose weight, yet they have limited impact. As an alternative, the authors of this paper argue that the most promising strategy to improve prospective parents' body composition and lifestyle is the promotion of health literacy in adolescents. Multiple but integrated forms of community-based interventions that focus on nutrition, physical activity, family planning, breastfeeding and infant feeding practices are needed. They need to address the wider social economic context in which adolescents live and to be linked with existing public health programmes in sexual and reproductive health and maternal and child health initiatives. Addressing the promotion of such health literacy in parents-to-be in LMICs requires a wider social perspective. A range of multisectoral agencies will have to work together and could be linked to issues of women's empowerment, reproductive health, communicable disease prevention and Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 (maternal and child health).
Early menarche: A systematic review of its effect on sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries
Ibitoye M; Choi C; Lee G; Sommer M: PLOS One, doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178884, 2017
Adolescent girls aged 15–19 bear a disproportionate burden of negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. The authors conducted this systematic review to better understand whether and how early menarche is associated with various negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries and the implications of such associations. They systematically searched eight health and social sciences databases for peer-reviewed literature on menarche and sexual and reproductive health in low- and middle-income countries. The authors’ review of the minimal existing literature (with 24 papers included) showed that early menarche is associated with early sexual initiation, early pregnancy and some sexually transmitted infections in low- and middle-income countries, as has been observed in high-income countries. Early menarche is also associated with early marriage–an association that may have particularly important implications for countries with high child marriage rates. Early age at menarche may be an important factor affecting the sexual and reproductive health of adolescent girls and young women in low- and middle-income countries. Given the association of early menarche with early marriage, the authors propose that ongoing efforts to reduce child marriage may benefit from targeting efforts to early maturing girls.
Ebola situation worsening while support lags
World Health Organisation: Statement from High-Level Mission to Butembo, DRC, WHO, 2019
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, visited Butembo, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was in Butembo on 19 April that WHO epidemiologist Dr Richard Mouzoko was killed by armed men while he and colleagues were working on the Ebola response. Dr Tedros and Dr Moeti traveled to Butembo to express their gratitude and show support to WHO and partner organization staff, while also assessing the next steps needed to strengthen both security and the Ebola response effort. They also met with local political, business and religious leaders, and called on them to accelerate their efforts to stabilize the surrounding environment. They urged the international community to step up support to contain the Ebola outbreak, including filling the funding gap that threatens to stymie the Ebola response. Most Ebola response activities, including community engagement, vaccination, and case investigation, have been re-launched following a slowdown in the wake of the attack that left Dr. Mouzoko dead and two people injured. However, they expressed deep concern that a rise in reported cases in recent weeks is straining resources even further. Only half of the currently requested funds have been received, which could lead to WHO and partners rolling back some activities precisely when they are most needed.