Bill Clinton on Global Public Health

Former United States President Bill Clinton offered closing remarks at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) event (February 23, 2009) that was convened as a special Preparatory meeting for the 2009 High-level Segment on the theme of Philanthropy and Global Public Health. The meeting discussed and explored collaborative opportunities in advancing progress in maternal [...]

Tanzania pays price for cheap knockoffs

National Public Radio’s Marketplace – a public radio program in the U.S. - recently reported on the prevalence — and danger — of countefeit products in Africa.  The prices are cheap, but the long term economic and public health costs can be high.  The following is an excerpt from the transcript:
Listen to the full report
Tanzania has an [...]

Not letting the facts get in the way of a weak argument

Ensuring that patients around the world have access to safe and affordable medicines – be they brand name or generic – is an issue worthy of thoughtful global discussion and action.  But that discussion should be honest and forthright and not driven by half-truths and misrepresentation of the facts.
Recently, officials in the Netherlands exercised diligence [...]

Innovation in Drug Access

A recent article in Global Health Magazine (Big pharma bets on emerging economies) focuses on the increasing use of tiered pricing by pharmaceutical companies to remain competitive in the global economy. 
“Such nuanced approaches to drug pricing that more closely reflect the ability to pay represent an attractive new trade-off for pharmaceutical companies: they provide greater [...]

Gates Foundation boosts fight against neglected tropical diseases

The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases recently announced that it has received $34 million through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the Sabin Vaccine Institute to step up the global effort to prevent and treat neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). These debilitating and sometimes deadly diseases affect 1.4 billion people worldwide [...]