The machinery of policy making in LDCs

At Nairobi, during this year’s annual conference of the International Monetary Fund, the Fund’s President, Mr Robert S. McNamara, called upon the LDCs to treat a more equitable distribution of personal incomes as a priority aim. However, the LDCs’ machinery for making policy decisions makes it very difficult to pursue such an aim

Bioethics Here and in Poor Countries: A Comment

There has been a tremendous increase in interest in bioethics, which has come in direct response to the substantial advances in biomedical research and medical technology over the past 30 years. The more sophisticated medical science and technology becomes, the more sophisticated are questions that are raised: Who has the right to decide whether a medical treatment should be initiated, continued, or stopped? How much information are healthcare professionals required to give to patients? When should a patient's right to confidentiality be violated? When, if ever, is active or passive euthanasia or abortion justified, and who has the right to decide on these issues

Six billion and counting

In 1999 global population surpassed 6 billion people, and this number rises by about 70-80 million people each year. "Six Billion and Counting" examines the consequences of continuing population growth for the world's resource systems and for national and global food security. Leisinger, Schmitt, and Pandya-Lorch offer here a sober analysis of a complex and alarming situation. They assess the progress the world has made in controlling population growth and point to the areas where future difficulties will lie. They describe the effects of rapid population growth on social and economic conditions and on natural resources, and they consider what population growth will mean for the food security of poor people and poor countries. In addition, the authors make clear how the roles of women and children in traditional societies affect birth rates. "Six Billion and Counting" shows that neither the population pessimists, who predict a catastrophic exhaustion of natural resources, nor the population optimists, who foresee technological solutions for all of the problems raised by population growth, offer the most useful approach to this problem. Instead, Leisinger and his coauthors argue that new technologies mitigating the harmful effects of rapid population growth can give the world valuable time to take the complex and multifaceted steps needed to reduce population growth rates to sustainable levels.Population forecasting. ,Population Economic aspects. ,Food security. ,Population Environmental aspects ,Technological innovations. ,Population policy. ,

Corporate Responsibilities for Access to Medicines

ABSTRACT. Today there is a growing wave of demands being placed upon the pharmaceutical industry to contribute to improved access to medicines for poor patients in the developing countries

Globalisierung mit menschlichem Antlitz: die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des United Nations Global Compact bei Novartis

"Die Novartis AG, der achtgrößte Pharmakonzern der Welt, zählt zu den Erstunterzeichnern des Global Compact der Vereinten Nationen. Auch mit dem entwicklungspolitischen Engagement der Novartis Stiftung für Nachhaltige Entwicklung signalisiert das in Basel ansässige Unternehmen, dass es seiner globalen, gesellschaftlichen Verantwortung als corporate citizen nachkommen möchte. Dieser Artikel beschreibt, wie Novartis den Global Compact im Konzern umsetzt, welche Erfahrungen dabei bislang gemacht wurden und welchen Herausforderungen das Unternehmen gegenübersteht." (Autorenreferat)"In recent years, changing expectations about the role of business in society have pushed the concept of good corporate citizenship into mainstream business thinking. There is a growing body of evidence linking corporate citizenship activities to positive business performance. Increasingly, leading companies recognize that they now have a broad range of stakeholders - including investors, employees, non-governmental organizations and the communities in which they operate. While corporate citizenship was emerging as a business trend, there existed no international framework to assist companies in the development and promotion of global, values-based management. By introducing the United Nations Global Compact and rooting it in internationally accepted principles, companies could feel confident that their actions were being guided by values that are universally supported and endorsed. Novartis, Inc., the world's eighth largest pharmaceutical company, was among the first signatories of the Global Compact. With the commitment to development policy shown by the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, the Basle-based company is also signaling its intention to meet its global social responsibilities as a corporate citizen. This article describes how Novartis approached the implementation of the Global Compact, the company's experiences and challenges." (author's abstract

Working together to make the world a healthier place: Desiderata for the pharmaceutical industry

Cross-sectorial, dynamic, and innovative partnerships are essential to resolve the challenges of humankind in the 21st century. At the same time, trust in each other’s integrity and good will is a precondition for the solution of any complex problem, and certainly for the success of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda. Experience shows that a nation’s economic and social success is at its greatest if, and when, there is cooperation and even cocreation involving a fair division of labor and responsibility among the different societal stakeholders. This paper uses Ralf Dahrendorf’s seminal work on obligations, as well as the European Commission’s Science with and for Society unit’s definition of responsible research and innovation (RRI), to motivate industry responsibilities to make the world a healthier place

Professional Organizations and Healthcare Industry Support: Ethical Conflict?

A good deal of attention has been recently focused on the presumed advertising excesses of the healthcare industry in its promotion techniques to healthcare professionals, whether through offering gratuities such as gifts, honoraria, or travel support2-6 or through deception. Two basic concerns have been expressed: Does the acceptance of gratuities bias the recipient, tainting his or her responsibilities as the patient's agent? Does acceptance of the gratuity by the healthcare professional contribute to the high cost of healthcare products? The California Society of Hospital Pharmacists was recently asked by its members to formulate a policy for an appropriate relationship between the Society and the healthcare industry, addressing these concerns. In formulating its policy, it became clear that the Society depended on healthcare industry support, gathered through journal advertising, fees for booths at its various educational events, and grants for speaker