Daniele Dionisio – Page 105 – PEAH – Policies for Equitable Access to Health

News Link n. 45

The news links are part of the research project GESPAM (Geopolitica, Salute Pubblica e Accesso alle Medicine/Geopolitics, Public Health and Access to Medicines), which aims to focus on the best options for the use of trade and government rules related to public health by resource-limited countries.

News Link 45

Editorials Address China’s Response To Emergence Of H7N9 Bird Flu Strain

LâereditÃ della SARS: sorveglianza e controllo delle epidemie allâetÃ della globalizzazione

After the vote: Future of Italian aid still uncertain

UN experts urge World Bank to adopt human rights standards in its policies

In My Place: Oxfam, Coldplay and you fight land grabs

Climate change: how a warming world is a threat to our food supplies

Health and Foreign Policy Bulletin: March 2013 issue

Chagas: A silent killer

Mind the GAPPD: A Pivotal New Resource Offers Global and Local Strategies to Overcome Leading Child Killers

Change@WHO – April 2013 newsletter on WHO reform

La Tobin Tax Ã¨ il primo passo per curare la finanza malata

The Novartis Decision: A Tale Of Developing Countries, IP, And The Role Of The Judiciary

Companies work t o employ Indiaâs poor: Business Call to Action announces new initiatives during G20 Inclusive Business Workshop in Mumbai

6 reasons companies fail to reach the bottom of the pyramid

President Obama’s Budget Request Signals Confidence In Global Fund

Itâs Half-time at the Global Fund

Greek Gene Bankâs Struggle Indicative Of Changing Times

Measuring universities’ commitments to global health

Viral transmission linked to injecting illicit drugs: finding the best medicine

Access to HIV meds secured for Pacific

Unwelcome side effects of mining in Mozambique

Riflessioni intorno allâEmergenza Nord Africa

News Link n. 44

News Link 44

–Race For WTO Director General Down To Five Candidates

–Reports: Obamaâs Proposed 2014 Budget Favours Patent Office, Generic Drugs

–The Good, The Bad And The Budget: What Obama’s Plan Means For Foreign Aid

–Questions Follow Sharp Rise In Investor-State Disputes, Far-Reaching Cases

–Global Fund: A $15 Billion Target for a Transformative Effect

–New Draft Traditional Knowledge Bill Published In South Africa

–South Africa Announces Rollout Of New Single-Dose ARV Therapy

–The BRICS Summit in Durban: too soon to write it off

–BRICS agree development bank and science forum

–Australia and China: New partners in aid

–How Turkey is emerging as a development partner in Africa

–âBeyond MDGs and beyond aidâ

–Implementing the European Union gender action plan 2010-2015: challenges and opportunities

–World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings â Nancy Birdsall and Todd Moss

–Africa: Is the Bank’s Attitude Towards Participatory Development Changing?

–Health Research Colloquium Calls On Countries To Invest More In R&D

–Movies, fashion and food: Halle Berry joins Michael Kors to fight hunger

–Why Chemotherapy That Costs $70,000 in the U.S. Costs $2,500 in India

–Cipla, The Human Care Company

–Climate Conversations – World Health Day 2013: Combating malnutrition and infection with forests

–Healthcare cuts may have lasting effect on obesity: Think tank

–Let’s end the two biggest child killer diseases

–New SMS Tool To Report Non-Tariff Trade Barriers At African Borders

Publications: Archives

ARCHIVES

PUBLICATIONS

I. TPP Deal and access to medicines: prospects from Asia-Pacific Geopolitics

II. Humanitarian Aid, Health: International Financing needs to reinvent itself

III. Il gap Nord-Sud nellâaccesso a farmaci di qualitÃ : un problema di salute pubblica globale

IV. Farmaci substandard e contraffatti: il mercato nei Paesi in Via di Sviluppo

V. L’industria internazionale della contraffazione. AltolÃ alle “cattive medicine”: ma il generico Ã¨ un altra cosa

VI: Cina, contro l’AIDS occorrono piÃ¹ farmaci indiani

VII. Irrevocable Johnson&Johnson’s “No” to the Medicines Patent Pool?

VIII. MNC behaviour in the pharmaceutical industry in India after TRIPS

IX. WHO / EU âBad Medicineâ Plans: Flaws, Coordination Gaps

X. BRICS e salute globale: contributo montante

XI. La farmacia India contro le multinazionali

XII. HIV Medicine Alliance: Lip Service Move to Get Rid of the Medicines Patent Pool?

XIII: Filling the gap: China’s fight agains HIV/AIDS

XIV: Nigeria’s Public Health: Gains and Challenges

XV: Fondo Globale: PiÃ¹ Performance dalla Ristrutturazione

XVI: The AIDS Story You May Not Have Heard

XVII: EU Health Cooperation: Room for Improvement

XVIII: Transnational Health Care and Medical Tourism

XIX: Fondi in Calo per le Malattie Neglette

XX: Access to Medicines and Quality of Medicines: always together!

XXI: Pending Cutback in EU Spending for Development Cooperation

XXII: 26 Years On: A Need for a Moral Revolution in Maternal Health Care

XXIII: Farmaci Essenziali e Malattie Trascurate

News Link n. 43

NEWS LINK 43

–From March Madness to April Anxiety: The WTO Leadership Contest Heats Up

–Who picks up the tab for development?

–Global financial flows, aid and development

–Invest in health systems for a balanced approach

–DNDi R&D Projects – 2013 Outlook

–What will the new pope mean for the development sector?

–Balancing conservation and peopleâs access to land

–The poorest countries are under renewed threat from WTO rules on access to medicines (and yes, this is 2013)

–Novartis Loses Patent Bid: Lessons From Indiaâs 3(d) Experience

–The Judgment In Novartis v. India: What The Supreme Court Of India Said

–India Dismisses Antitrust Complaint Against Gilead Sciences

–Australian Pharmaceutical Patents Review’s New Report Critical Of Patent Extensions, R&D Funding

–The European Commission calls on EU Member States to fulfil their commitments towards the world’s poorest

–Some OECD Nations’ Development Aid Spending Down 4% In 2012, Report Says

–Donors likely to cut down on HIV and Aids funds

–End of polio by 2018 a global win â WHO

–US Trade Office Calls For Comments On Transatlantic Trade Deal

–Banking on the BRICS for health?

–Enter the Dragon and the Elephant: Chinaâs and Indiaâs Participation in Global Health Governance

–Sizing Up China’s Role in Global Health Aid to Africa

–Alcohol and alcohol-related harm in China: policy changes needed

–New apps transforming remote parts of Africa

–Gene Patenting: Consequences for Global Health

–Crisi finanziaria, austeritÃ e salute in Europa

News Link n. 42

News Link 42

–Obama After Meeting with African Leaders

–Novartis Loses Patent Bid: Lessons From Indiaâs 3(d) Experience

–India Dismisses Antitrust Complaint Against Gilead Sciences

–India pressured by U.S. Congressional committee, Pfizer, over drug patents

–Indonesia to override patents for live-saving medicines

–East African Community Doubles Efforts To Boost Local Drug Production

–Shasun Signs Licence With MPP to Produce Low-Cost HIV Medicines

–Far diventare i farmaci evergreen, come alcune canzoni

–The Lancet series: Health in Europe

–UN high-level panel highlights 5 areas of reform post-2015

–UPOV 1991 Will Adversely Impact Farmers In Tanzania, Civil Society And Farmers Say

–Sahel crisis not over yet, WFP chief warns

–Donate à¸¿99 To Provide School Meals For Girls In Asia For 2 Weeks (Thailand)

–US food aid revolution: rumour or reality?

–A Growing Opportunity: Measuring Investments in African Agriculture

–Inequality out of World Bankâs 2030 strategy?

–World Bank live chat: Have your say on managing risk and opportunities

–Canadaâs International Development Agency Is No Longer; Maybe Thatâs Not Such A Bad Thing

–‘Grand Challenges In Global Health’ Initiative Calls For Applications For The ‘Next Generation Of Condom’

–Innovation, IPR Cooperation Among Top Priorities For BRICS

–BRICS development bank: ‘The devil is in the detail’

–Callan, Blak and Thomas on Chinaâs foreign aid and investment

–New VSO paper sets out how post-2015 process could put womenâs empowerment at the heart of fighting poverty

–Biovision: Personalised Medicine, Climate Change, Sustainability Need Innovation

–Former US Congressman Howard Berman Joins Lobbying Firm

–The USA and global health diplomacy: goals and challenges

News Link Archives

NEWS LINK

News link n. 16

Interview: Jorgen Stassijns, malaria advisor at the Belgian branch of Médecins Sans Frontières

GESPAM had the pleasure to interview Mr. Jorgen Stassijns as malaria advisor and specialist in tropical disease at the Belgian branch of Médecins SansFrontières (MSF). Mr. Stassijns is a medical doctor, working for MSF since 1998. He did missions in different countries, covering different medical fields: refugee projects in South Sudan and Guinea, TB project in Russia, access to health care project in Sierra Leone and migrant project in Belgium. Since 2007, Mr. Stassijns is working in the headquarters, first as medical-operational coordinator for projects in Eastern Africa, then as malaria expert

Interview

Jorgen Stassijns

Malaria Advisor and Specialist in Tropical Disease at the Belgian branch of Médecins Sans Frontières

Background information from WHO 2012 Malaria Report:

..... International disbursements for malaria control rose steeply from less than US$ 100 million in 2000 to US$ 1.71 billion in 2010 and were estimated to be US$ 1.66 billion in 2011 and US$ 1.84 billion in 2012.....

.....The enormous progress achieved appears to have slowed recently. International funding for malaria control has levelled off, and is projected to remain substantially below the US$ 5.1 billion required to achieve universal coverage of malaria interventions......

....There were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria (range 154-289 million) and 660 000 deaths (range 610 000-971 000) in 2010......Country level malaria estimates available for 2010 show that 80% of estimated malaria deaths occur in just 14 countries and approximately 80% of estimated cases occur in 17 countries. Together, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria account for over 40% of the estimated total of malaria deaths globally. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Nigeria account for 40% of estimated malaria cases.

.....millions of people continue to lack access to preventive therapies, diagnostic testing and quality-assured treatment.....

......resistance to artemisinins - the key compounds in artemisinin-based combination therapies - has been detected in 4 countries of the South-East Asia Region, while mosquito resistance to insecticides has been found in 64 countries around the world......

.....There is a critical need to strengthen malaria surveillance......

.....There is an urgent need to identify new funding sources to maintain and expand coverage levels of interventions so that outbreaks of disease can be avoided and international targets for reducing malaria cases and deaths can be attained.....

– GESPAM: Mr.Stassijns, as regards progress so far, how to maintain momentum and do the utmost to hold back malaria resurgence?

– Jorgen Stassijns: Over the past years, some successes have been achieved in malaria control, and in some countries, the numbers are going down. However, huge challenges remain in high burden countries such as DRC or Niger, contexts where MSF is active in the fight against malaria. In 2012 for example , the malaria burden in these countries has been higher than previous years. For some other contexts, reliable data are lacking. Clearly, all efforts to control malaria should continue and funding should be increased if we want to reduce the malaria burden.

– GESPAM: Do MSF functions include partnerships and collaboration with counterparts for malaria action?

– Jorgen Stassijns: In its projects, MSF always works in close collaboration with or in support to the National Malaria Programs in the countries. We don’t have formal agreements or partnerships with other actors.

– GESPAM: Pending or already made cuts in foreign aid expenditure are threatening the gains achieved in malaria control and prevention. Relevantly, adding to a December 2012 call by the Executive Director of Roll Back Malaria Partnership for “….new financing mechanisms..” including “.. financial transactions taxes..”, ALMA (African Leaders Malaria Alliance) recently asked for “…innovative financing mechanisms, including introducing levies on financial transactions…” to further scale up and sustain malaria control efforts.

Do you share that revenues from a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) would be a suitable resource for the European Union to partly allocate to Global Fund needs for malaria fight?

– Jorgen Stassijns: I am a technical expert, not involved as such in financing mechanisms, so I can’t give a relevant opinion on that topic.

– GESPAM: What about MSF position regarding cheap for malaria medicines currently being rolled out by emerging countries’ industries?

– Jorgen Stassijns: MSF position has always been clear: patients suffering from malaria should have access to good quality antimalarial medicines. As MSF, we have put in place a system of quality control and work with validated manufacturers, some of them based in emerging countries.

– GESPAM: Do MSF functions include partnerships and collaboration with counterparts for malaria action?

– GESPAM: Parasite resistance to artemisinins (the key compounds in artemisinin-based combination therapies) has now been detected in 4 countries of the Greater Mekong subregion: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam.

What extent are counterfeit and substandard medicines accountable for resistance?

– Jorgen Stassijns: This is probably one of the causes of the emerging resistance, together with other factors such as the availability of monotherapies. However, considerable efforts are being done to ban monotherapies and substandard drugs. In Cambodia for example, mechanisms have been put in place to provide the private sector – treating the majority of malaria cases – with quality antimalarial drugs. In Africa, resistance to artemisinin has not been documented (yet), but similar risk factors are present and everything should be done to avoid that resistance spreads to Africa.

– GESPAM: As per recent WHO release, “…Tracking progress is a major challenge in malaria control. At present, malaria surveillance systems detect only one-tenth of the estimated global number of cases. In as many as 41 countries around the world, it is not possible to make a reliable assessment of malaria trends due to incompleteness or inconsistency of reporting over time…”.

As such, how to strengthen malaria surveillance and ensure that interventions are delivered to areas where they are most needed?

– Jorgen Stassijns: Putting in place a performing surveillance is challenging and requires resources, but is a key intervention that allows to monitor the progress in malaria control.

– GESPAM: As recently stressed “…children with no immunity who have been protected over the past three years are beginning to get exposed, and the number of malaria cases among young children is expected to increase significantly this year if replacement nets do not come..”.

What about in your experience?

– Jorgen Stassijns: Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LN) are considered as one of the most effective tools for the prevention of malaria, but their lifetime is about 3 years. Therefore, regular replacement of the LN is needed. In some of the countries we’re working (Niger, DRC), funding for LN is insufficient and this could indeed have a negative impact on the malaria burden, and increase the number of cases.

– GESPAM: Thank you Mr. Stassijns for your insightful answers.

News Link n. 41

News Link 41

–Water cooperation is an imperative for a better future for all

–CIDA no more

–POPE FRANCIS: âHOW I WOULD LIKE A CHURCH WHICH IS POOR AND FOR THE POOR!â

–Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Join Forces to Prevent Non-Communicable Diseases

–Global health diplomacy: advancing foreign policy and global health interests

–U.S. CONGRESS PASSES BILL MAINTAINING FULL SUPPORT FOR GLOBAL FUND

–US Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Pay-For-Delay Drug Deals

–Tackling poverty and disease with innovative health financing

–Role of Environment in Tackling Poverty in Focus at Discussion on Post-2015 Global Development Priorities

–At US-Led Workshop, African Stakeholders Call For âHome Grown IP Agendaâ

–How a new trade agreement will hurt the poorâs access to medicines

–KEI notes on the 16th Round of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) Negotiations in Singapore

–Japan Announces Goal of Joining Trans-Pacific Trade Talks

–BRICS Bank Provides Opportunities for Africa

–Strengthening the Expanded Programme on Immunization in Africa: Looking beyond 2015

–Accesso alle vaccinazioni nelle popolazioni migranti: convegno Roma 16 – 17 aprile 2013 ISTITUTO SUPERIORE DI SANITAâ

–Task shifting. Lâarte (e la necessitÃ ) della delega

–Cure primarie. Confronto shock tra UK e USA

–World Health Organization and Global Fund cite tuberculosis threat

–Director-Generalâs message on World TB Day

–Tuberculosis current concepts

–TB is a leading, but underdiagnosed, cause of child mortality

–African Health Ministers Commit to Ramped Up TB/HIV Treatment

–Tuberculosis: Europeâs Ticking Timebomb

–EU’s new research mechanism ‘complex and narrow’

–‘One step more for realizing the rights and dignity of women and girls’

–Analysis: Nepalâs maternal mortality decline paradox

–African Ministers Focus On IP Role In Innovation For Development; Less On Flexibilities

WTBD press briefing at the UN Palais, 18 March 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, let me get into some specifics about the results of the joint work with the Global Fund on estimating the anticipated demand for international funding between 2014 and 2016 in 118 countries eligible to receive financing from the Global Fund.

WTBD press briefing* at the UN Palais, 18 March 2013

by Mario Raviglione, Director Stop TB Department

World Health Organization

â¢ Ladies and gentlemen, let me get into some specifics about the results of the joint work with the Global Fund on estimating the anticipated demand for international funding between 2014 and 2016 in 118 countries eligible to receive financing from the Global Fund.

â¢ Given the upcoming GF pre-replenishment conference in April aiming at raising the necessary resources for the global fight against HIV, TB and Malaria, we estimated the total funding needs, the amount of domestic resources that could be mobilized and the anticipated demand for international funding to close remaining gaps.

â¢ We estimate that about 4.8 Billion US$ is required every year for proper TB care and control efforts. If we assume that countries will continue to increase, to their ability, their domestic investments, we are left with an anticipated demand for international funding of 1.6 Billion US$ per year.

â¢ Of this gap for international funding, 900 Million US$ (almost 60%) is for African countries, that include most of the worldâs low-income countries.

â¢ The two areas with the greatest need of increased investment are (1) MDR-TB treatment, with 1.3 Billion US$ needed per year, and (2) the expansion of new rapid diagnostic and associated laboratory strengthening, with 600 Million US$ per year.

â¢ Of course, the largest investment remains that of the core essential elements of good TB care and control, that also prevent MDR-TB from emerging, that amount to 2.6 Billion US$ per year.

â¢ If we collectively succeed in mobilizing all the necessary resources, domestically and internationally, and fill all the gaps, then 17 Million people will be treated between 2014 and 2016, thus saving 6 Million lives.

* published with permission