Deworming delusions in the search for scientific certainty

Duncan Green and Mohga Kamal-Yanni analyse the latest developments in Worm Wars

A pandemic treaty for equitable global access to medical countermeasures:seven recommendations for sharing intellectual property, know-how and technology Comment

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how current international laws and practices fail to ensure medical countermeasures (ie, vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and personal protective equipment) are equitably distributed in a global health crisis. In 2021, the 194 Member States of the World Health Organization agreed to begin negotiations towards an international instrument that would better position the world to prevent, respond and prepare for future pandemics (often called a ‘pandemic treaty’.) A pandemic treaty presents an opportunity to address these challenges in international law, and craft a better system, based on solidarity, for the global development and distribution of medical countermeasures. We recommend that a pandemic treaty ensures sufficient financing for biomedical research and development (R&D), creates conditions for licensing government-funded R&D, mandates technology transfer, shares intellectual property, data and knowledge needed for the production and supply of products, and streamlines regulatory standards and procedures to market medical countermeasures. We also recommend that a pandemic treaty ensures greater transparency and inclusive governance of these systems. The aim of these components in a pandemic treaty should be to craft a better collective response to global health threats, consistent with existing international law, political commitments and sound public health practice

False Hope or New Start? The global fund to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria

14,000 people become HIV positive every day. The Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria was set up to tackle the health crisis caused by these three diseases in developing countries. But it requires massive and long-term donor funding, a transparent and equitable system of service delivery, and commitment to comprehensive programmes of prevention, treatment, and care (which include the use of generic medicines) if better health is to become a reality for the millions of women, men, and children already infected and affected by these illnesses

Salt, Sugar, and Malaria Pills: How the Affordable Medicine Facility-malaria endangers public health

The Affordable Medicine Facility-malaria has shown no evidence that it has saved the lives of the most vulnerable or delayed drug resistance. Rather, this global subsidy has incentivised medicine sales without diagnosis and shown no evidence that it has served poor people. It poses a risk to public health and could skew investment away from effective solutions. Evidence shows that a public-public partnership between community health workers and primary health care facilities can fight malaria and deliver on other public health outcomes. But will donors listen to the evidence

Generic Competition, Price and Access to Medicines: The case of antiretrovirals in Uganda

Access to treatment is a key part of national strategies to combat HIV/AIDS. Antiretrovirals can increase the length and quality of life, and the productivity of patients. Research in Uganda shows that poor people will use ARVs if the price is right and if a delivery system is place. It also shows that the price of brand-name drugs fell significantly only when generics entered the market. Generic competition, the use of the public-health safeguards in the TRIPS Agreement, and urgent funding for health-service delivery are essential parts of the fight against HIV/AIDS in developing countries such as Uganda

Report of the UN Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on human rights and medicines: Oxfam's response

In December 2015, the UN Secretary-General set up a High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines to 'recommend solutions for remedying the policy incoherence between the justifiable rights of inventors, international human rights law, trade rules and public health in the context of health technologies'. Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima is one of the 16 HLP members.As the HLP issues its report, Oxfam commends the UN Development Programme secretariat, whose staff worked tirelessly to support the Panel's work. Oxfam calls on the UN Secretary-General and all governments to start implementing the HLP's recommendations without delay, and ensure that gaps not fully addressed by the HLP should be discussed further.

Never Again: Building resilient health systems and learning from the Ebola crisis

It took the threat of a global health crisis to illustrate the failings of Africa's health systems. Resilient health systems, free at the point of use, are evidently a global public good. They are essential for the provision of universal health coverage and for a prompt response to outbreaks of disease.Resilient health systems require long-term investment in the six key elements that are required for a resilient system: an adequate number of trained health workers; available medicines; robust health information systems, including surveillance; appropriate infrastructure; sufficient public financing and a strong public sector to deliver equitable, quality services. Global investment in research and development for medical products is also critical.This briefing paper identifies lessons from the current Ebola crisis, as well as previous outbreaks, to review what is required to build resilient health systems in West Africa and beyond. The paper presents recommendations for affected countries, governments, donors and international organizations

Free Trade Agreement Between the USA and Thailand Threatens Access to HIV/AIDS Treatment

Access to HIV/AIDS medicines makes a huge difference to the lives of infected people and their families. Not only do these medicines help people live longer, they also greatly improve the quality of their lives, reduce the stigma and discrimination that they might experience, and enable them to contribute to the economic and social welfare of their families, their communities, and their countries as a whole. Thailand is a positive example of a developing country that has developed effective HIV/AIDS treatment programmes, with beneficial results for its population. It has a health-care system that can deliver antiretroviral therapy and other treatments to those in need. And thanks to the availability of affordable generic medicines the government is able to offer some key HIV/AIDS medicines to around 30,000 people, with plans to scale up the programme in coming years

Harmful Side Effects: How drug companies undermine global health

New Oxfam research shows that four pharmaceutical companies -- Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Pfizer -- systematically hide their profits in overseas tax havens. They appear to deprive developing countries of more than $100m (around £80m) every year -- money that is urgently needed to meet the health needs of people in these countries -- while charging very high prices for their products. In the UK, these four companies may be underpaying around £125m of tax each year. These corporations also deploy massive lobbying operations to influence trade, tax and health policies in their favour and give their damaging behavior greater apparent legitimacy. Tax dodging, high prices and political influencing by pharmaceutical companies exacerbate the yawning gap between rich and poor, between men and women, and between advanced economies and developing ones