Report on the spread of fake drugs in poor countries

The global trade in fake medicines is vast and growing, according to a newly released report by IPN (Keeping it real:  combating the spread of fake drugs in poor countries).  The spread of fake medicines results in millions of people unwittingly consuming cement, talcum powder, sawdust, paint and an array of other toxic or inert substances.  It [...]

World Malaria Day – recognizing health progress and ongoing challenges

 World Malaria Day  (April 25) is a day of unified commemoration of the global effort to provide effective control of malaria around the world.  This year’s World Malaria Day marks a critical moment in time.  The international malaria community has merely two years to meet the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment [...]

New Partnership aims to deliver affordable, effective malaria drugs to the poor

A new international partnership, backed by the United Nations, hopes to put affordable malaria drugs within reach of millions of people, especially children, in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
The rationale behind The Affordable Medicines Facility for malaria, as the new initiative is known, will be to reduce the price of effective new therapies (artemisinin combination therapies [...]

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 [...]

A Nigerian perspective on access barriers to medicines and treatment

What are the real access barriers to healthcare for people in Sub-Saharan Africa?  The following article from the Wall Street Journal Europe provides an interesting perspective on the healthcare challenges in Nigeria, with a focus on AIDS patients.  Mr. Ayodele states that the “real causes of restricted access to to AIDS drugs are Africa’s derelict transportation [...]

NAFDAC blacklists 22 Indian pharmaceutical firms

According to the World Health Organization, counterfeit and sub-standard medicines represent an enormous public health challenge.  These products can range from random mixtures of harmful toxic substances to inactive, useless preparations.  Counterfeiting is greatest in those regions where the regulatory and legal oversight is weakest.  Many countries in Africa and parts of Asia and Latin [...]

Strengthening the economies of developping countries through intellectual property

As reported in This Day Online, Assistant Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, has advocated a structured approach in harnessing Nigeria’s intellectual property assets, which he said  remained one of the tools for economic development.
“The most important source of technological information known to man today is the patent system. [...]

How Intellectual Property can raise export income and alleviate poverty

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) supported the recent development of an interesting booklet entitled “Distinctive Values in African exports – How Intellectual Property can raise export income and alleviate poverty.”
While this booklet focuses more on consumer goods than on health, it is interesting to hear how Intellectual Property can be used to the advantage [...]

Substandard malaria drugs in Africa

According to a recent study funded by Africa Fighting Malaria, many Africans are getting substandard or counterfeit malaria drugs.  This is a serious problem as the WHO estimates that malaria kills 1.3 million people each year – mostly children under age 5. 
A report from Reuters stated that:
Tests of 195 different packs of malaria drugs sold in [...]