PAHO’s vaccine system hampers African efforts

Efforts to make newer and more costly vaccines widely available to the poorest in Africa are being hampered by a long-standing system that makes vaccines affordable to middle-income Latin American countries, reports the Financial Times.
The Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) revolving fund, which began in 1979, negotiates substantial discounts with manufacturers on prices in richer [...]

EU: Seizures of counterfeit imports double in 2008

The European Union said seizures of fake branded goods more than doubled last year from 2007.  Customs authorities seized some 178 million counterfeit goods last year, compared with 79 million a year earlier.
Some 20 million of these items were potentially dangerous to health and safety, officials said, because fake toys, medicines and electronics don’t meet [...]