CFD In The News

Funding for sub-standard drugs Daily Pioneer, India, May 15, 2008 Sub-standard AIDS and malaria drugs can cause virus and parasite resistance and clinical failure. Yet the Global Fund has been procuring such drugs for millions of low-income patients. more....

Malaria keeps killing millions The Sowetan, South Africa, May 15, 2008 Fake and substandard drugs produced by unscrupulous manufacturers is a real worry. more....

Study finds Africans get substandard malaria drugs Reuters, May 06, 2008 A new report shows that over one in three antimalarial drugs in major African cities are substandard, causing parasite resistance and threatening 700 million at-risk people. more....

Threat to Modern Medicines The Korea Times, April 28, 2008 The WHO’s plans to push subsidised local drug production in Africa threaten to worsen the problem of substandard generics, placing the most vulnerable at risk. more....

A 'malaria day' resolution The American, April 23, 2008 Rolling back the insect-borne disease will require better coordination between aid agencies and private companies. more....

Ending the failing approach to healthcare The Nation, Nigeria, February 08, 2008 Despite massive increases of donor funding for health in Africa, things on the ground are not improving. It's time to examine new methods of delivering healthcare in Africa, says Nigerian analyst Thompson Ayodele. more....

Subsidies for the rich in poor countries Daily Times, Malawi, February 06, 2008 Proponents of local drug production see it as a way of decreasing costs, providing local jobs, and cutting dependence on foreign suppliers--thus lowering prices and improving access to drugs. But subsidies, protectionism and politicisation can often do more harm than good. more....

Fake drugs kill people all over the world Korea Times, January 21, 2008 It's not just the criminals who are threatening health with counterfeit or substandard drugs, but also the questionable procurement practices of international aid agencies. more....

Asinine activism Washington Times, December 30, 2007 Many technologies - ranging from pesticides to GM crops - have an enormous net benefit for human health. But these technologies are demonised by the unscientific scaremongering of activist groups. more....

Hot air and human health China Post, December 13, 2007 The cost of cutting greenhouse gas emissions would have drastic implications for human health, causing worldwide recession. If the WHO is serious about improving the health of the poor, it should stop trying to push emissions caps and focus on the real barriers to good health. more....

Pesticides are good for you Providence Journal, USA, October 14, 2007 A scare story about pesticides and prostate cancer in the Caribbean made big headlines with little or no proof: in fact, we are far healthier with modern chemicals than we would be without them. more....

Spare Africa the medicine of the new colonisers Business Day, South Africa, October 10, 2007 Unaccountable western NGOs have great influence over the health policies of African governments. The only problem is, they normally get things wrong. more....

A deadly double standard on AIDS treatment Medical Progress Today, USA, July 14, 2007 Increasing patient resistance to ARVs and anti-malarials pose a huge threat to the health systems of poorer countries - yet drug resistance is being encouraged by the short-sighted policies of multilateral organisations and NGOs. more....

TRIPping up Property Rights Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2007 After years of campaigning, activists have narrowed the debate about health care in poor countries to a single premise: intellectual property rights restrict access to medicines. But this discussion takes energy away from the things that really matter: infrastructure, doctors, nurses. more....

Drug-resistant AIDS: the next Tsunami Hamilton Spectator, Canada, June 04, 2007 Although billions were pledged for AIDS at the recent G8 meeting, the neglected issue of drug resistance is now starting to simmer — and it will soon make current financial commitments seem puny, while damaging the economies of countries already ravaged by HIV/AIDS. more....

Baptists and bootleggers Medical Progress Today, March 26, 2007 Thailand's recent decision to 'compulsory license' a number of drugs has been applauded by health activists and 'consumer' groups, in a coalition that looks a little like the 'bootleggers and Baptists' of Prohibition days. Except this time, the quality of vital medicines is at stake instead of moonshine. more....

Myths and misconceptions of the AIDS pandemic San Francisco Chronicle, March 05, 2007 Based on first-hand experiences, Prof Chin argues that the story of HIV has been distorted by organisations such as UNAIDS and AIDS activists in order to promote their own agendas. more....

Policy threats to health progress Business Day, South Africa, February 21, 2007 South Africa has defied conventional wisdom to achieve success in its AIDS and malaria programmes. But this good work may be undone by its wider health reforms, which appear to be based more on ideology than common sense. more....

Death in the shade of world’s attention Business Day, South Africa, December 15, 2006 Millions of cancer and cardiovascular deaths could be cheaply averted in poorer countries, but it seems sometimes that HIV/AIDS is the only thing on the radarscreen of politicians and journalists. more....

Latest Reports

»	The benefits of the FDA March 06, 2008 Four years ago, the FDA announced it would test and certify for free any generic ARV manufactured by a foreign company, in an attempt to improve the quality of medicines being given to AIDS patients in poor countries. As a result, millions of patients are now receiving high quality drugs. more....
»	Local pharmaceutical production in developing countries: How economic protectionism undermines access to quality medicines February 01, 2008 Donors are urging African governments to support local pharmaceutical production, in order to reduce costs and boost local scientific capacity. However, in many cases it may save money to follow the laws of economics and import drugs from countries that specialise in drug production. Using public monies to prop up local pharma companies, moreover, can encourage corruption and undermine the supply of safe, effective drugs. more....
»	A Global Medical Research and Development Treaty: An answer to global health needs? May 17, 2007 Is a binding, global treaty for drug R&D the answer to the developing world's health problems? This paper by Oxford University's Andrew Farlow argues that such a treaty would undermine the R&D process, making it more risky and complex. Worse, a treaty would divert resources away from simple solutions that actually stand a chance of improving the health of the poor immediately. more....
»	On the trail of a cure: reality and rhetoric on treating malaria April 02, 2007 Despite a record level of philanthropic and multilateral funding for malaria, there are still significant problems in the procurement and delivery of malaria drugs. These easily solvable problems are undermining the effectiveness of donor funding. more....
»	Fighting the diseases of poverty March 21, 2007 How does economic globalisation affect health? Why is access to medicines in many poor countries so low? Why, despite recored levels of spending, are intergovernmental efforts to fight disease so ineffectual? These questions and others are addressed in this new book. more....
»	Counterfeit Medicines in Less Developed Countries: Problems and solutions May 03, 2006 This paper from the CFD examines the scale and scope of drug counterfeiting in lower income countries and suggests some strategies which would help limit their manufacture and supply. Pulsar aquí para leer la versión en Castellano. more....