Please note that the dates refer to the time we transferred the news topics to our archives
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IOctober 5, 2002Caribbean Health Officials in Negotiations with HIV/AIDS Drugs Makers
Washington, June 24, 2002 (PAHO) - Caribbean health officials are preparing for a series of negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to supply antiretroviral drugs to Caribbean countries, as part of an effort to reduce the severe impact of HIV/AIDS there. Under the framework of the WHO/UNAIDS Accelerated Access Initiative for the Caribbean, the Caribbean Community, (CARICOM), jointly with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is seeking to obtain low-priced antiretrovirals from the companies that manufacture them.
The Caribbean has reached the highest prevalence of HIV outside of sub-Saharan Africa. With a population of more than 30 million, the Caribbean has an estimated 500,000 people with HIV/AIDS, which is now the major cause of death for the 15-to-44 age group in most of its countries. About 80,000 Caribbean children have been orphaned by AIDS, according to PAHO estimates. The small size of most Caribbean islands and their fragile economic status makes them extremely vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is having a strong impact on their most precious resource, their populations.
For almost two decades the Caribbean has been working to prevent the spread of AIDS and there is now increased concern about the escalating numbers of HIV infected persons. Antiretroviral drugs have been shown to improve health status, productivity and quality and length of life of people living with HIV/AIDS. In the Caribbean, all the governments have decided to accelerate access to quality care, including antiretroviral drugs in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
One important barrier to the provision of treatment and care is the cost of the antiretroviral drugs. Negotiations to obtain low prices for antiretroviral drugs have already been going on since last year, and so far three countries - Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica - have completed national negotiations. But Caribbean Governments want a uniform regional price for the drugs from suppliers at the lowest possible level, regardless of countries' gross domestic product or HIV/AIDS prevalence rates.
CARICOM and PAHO/WHO/UNAIDS are working to obtain low prices for both the private and public sectors and to buy the drugs through a regional revolving fund under which they would not be subject to tax or duties. They also seek to distribute the drugs with no mark-ups beyond handling costs, but applying the concept of cost recovery to make the use of the antiretrovirals sustainable and universally accessible within the Caribbean Region
Mr. Edwin Carrington, Secretary-General of CARICOM, has said the increasing number of persons infected with the deadly virus HIV/AIDS is "one of the most pressing issues of concern in the Caribbean and the wider world." He noted, "As we move into the 21st century, one of the major threats to our human development efforts is the HIV/AIDS epidemic."
Combating the epidemic in the region also requires focusing on the dignity of
people already infected and living with HIV/AIDS," says Dr. George Alleyne, director of the Pan American Health Organization. "This includes improving their access to quality, humane care and treatment."
The world AIDS epidemic "has reached alarming proportions," according to Dr. Alleyne "In the Region of the Americas, one in every 200 persons between 15 and 49 years of age is HIV-infected. In the Caribbean, one in every 50 people has the infection, and it is clear that the incidence of HIV among men continues to increase worldwide."
Heterosexual HIV transmission in the Caribbean is driven by the "deadly combination" of early sexual activity and frequent partner exchange by young people, according to UNAIDS. Age mixing-younger women having sex with older men-is also an important factor.
According to Dr. C. James Hospedales, Director of the Caribbean Epidemiology Center (CAREC), trends in the number of people testing positive for HIV "in groups at high risk and the general population have been going up, and this does not augur well. HIV/AIDS models, developed by CAREC in collaboration with the Health Economics Unit at the University of the West Indies, suggest that if we do not have more success with prevention efforts, AIDS will have a very significant impact on mortality in the coming two decades, and that up to 5 percent of the gross national product could be spent on AIDS. This is as much as some countries spend currently on health overall."
PAHO, which also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization has been collaborating with its partners at global, regional, and national levels in addressing the HIV/AIDS epidemic, making it a top priority issue in 2002, its Centennial Year. The Organization was established in 1902 and is the oldest health organization in the world. It works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise the living standards of their people.
Source: Pan American Health Organization. For more information, please contact: Daniel Epstein, Office of Public Information, (202) 974-3459, e-mail: epsteind@paho.org.
June 22, 2002
In spite of significant sums of money allocated to fight the disease, the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said on Jan 3, 2002 that polio was on the rise in Nigeria. Year 2002 is the new target time for total eradication of this childhood disease in that country.
Speaking at an interactive social mobilization workshop for stakeholders on the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) organized by UNICEF in collaboration with the health and social services department of the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (MFCT), the organization's representative in Nigeria, Dr Brandoa-Co, said the number of cases of wild polio virus which stood at 29 in 2000 had risen to 46 in 2001.
" I think Nigeria needs to improve on its national immunization days. The media, traditional rulers, religious leaders all have roles to play in riding the nation of the disease," Dr Brandoa-Co said.
In his speech, the World Health Organization (WHO) Coordinator in the Federal Capital Territory, Dr L. O. Adeniran, stated also that Nigeria was yet to achieve the free polio status.
"Nigeria is yet to achieve a free polio status. We have not been able to eradicate polio, a poverty-driven disease. With all the resources at our disposal, we are still finding it difficult to eradicate the disease after five years of (program) inception", he observed.
Responding to questions on the side effects of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Dr Brandoa-Co admitted that the vaccine could cause "slight type of polio itself but will not lead to paralysis", even as he argued that the benefits of a cure far outweighed the side effects. "There is no information that the OPV can cause brain damage, cancer, etc. There is also no evidence that the vaccine can reduce population or interfere in family planning", he added.
Other obstacles preventing the effective administration of the polio vaccine, according to him, include instances of religious teachers in some parts of the territory preventing their wards from receiving the vaccines on the grounds that parents were not informed before the exercise.
Source: AllAfrica.com
Escalation in the Middle East Conflict Raises Major Concerns for Human Health
A Declaration by Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization
March 13, 2002 - The latest escalation of violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in Israel, and in the refugee camps in the West Bank and in Gaza represents a new and serious threat to the health of affected people - Palestinians, Israelis, and others caught up in conflict. I have read reports prepared by the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and our own WHO staff. I am seriously concerned about the consequences of the hostilities for people’s health, not only in injuries, disability and loss of life. They also severely disrupt health services.
The targeting of civilians in the conflict is a deplorable development. Beyond the immediate death and injuries there is a long term price that will be borne, particularly by children, whose psychological health is being directly affected.
I am particularly concerned about the difficulties for people in need to reach and receive health services. This applies especially to children, pregnant women and the disabled.
I am deeply troubled by the fact that several of the casualties of the fighting have been health workers responding to people’s acute needs and distress.
I appeal to all sides in the conflict to accept the critical role of doctors, nurses and paramedical workers on duty, to respect their neutrality, equip them to save lives and relieve suffering, and allow them to do this vital work in safety.
For further information, journalists can contact: Mr Jon Lidén, Office of the Director-General, WHO, Geneva, Telephone: (+41 22) 791 3982, Fax (+41 22) 791 4999, e-mail: lidenj@who.ch.
All WHO Press Releases, Fact Sheets and Features as well as other information on this subject can be obtained on Internet on the WHO home page
http://www.who.int/April 3, 2002
DRC-RWANDA: Volcanic eruption sends tens of thousands fleeing
January 18, 2002
NairobiTens of thousands of people have fled the eastern Congolese city of Goma following a volcanic eruption on Thursday.
Mount Nyiragongo erupted early on Jan. 17 on its eastern, western and southern flanks flowing towards Goma, its airport, and nearby residential areas, Radio Rwanda reported. A flow of lava had spewed down the mountainsides, through cracks in its flanks, sweeping away at least 14 villages in its path, news agencies reported. Various agencies reported on Friday that at least 45 persons had died.
A representative of the international aid organization, World Vision, said that Goma had been completely destroyed. She said between 300,000 and 350,000 people had fled the town and were expected to be in the northwestern Rwandan town of Gisenyi, near the border.
"The air is full of ash, there is no water, people haven't eaten, and are suffering from respiratory problems and diarrhea," she added.
Lava was still flowing on Friday and earth tremors occurred at regular intervals, a representative of the regional office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said. "If anything, the situation got worse today," he added.
World Vision and Save the Children, both international aid organizations with bases in Goma, had their offices burnt to the ground, as well as a warehouse belonging to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS), sources said on Friday.
Apart from the immediate health hazards, there are also fears that toxic gasses from the crater could pollute the air and drinking water, and that ash and acid rain could lead to long-term damage of crops in the area, a representative from the Disaster Response Unit of InterAction confirmed.
The Nyiragongo volcano is one of eight on the borders of Rwanda, DRC and Uganda. Only two of these are still active: The Nyamuragira, which erupted in 2001 causing no casualties, and Nyiragongo, which last erupted on 10 January 1977, killing scores of people in less than half an hour.
Source: Africa News