Essential medicines
Is War Against Bad Medicine Paying Off?
IPN Opinion article
Nigeria tends to make headlines for corruption but it has made impressive progress in fighting counterfeit medicines, through the determined actions of its National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), started under the brave leadership of the legendary Dora Akunyili. These analysts describe their new research that updates their frightening discoveries of fakes in 2007.
Patents help the sick, poor globally
IPN Opinion article
The WHO is proposing a global treaty to weaken patents and put research under official control. This diverts attention from the real problems of healthcare, such as poor water and electricity services, and allows governments in poor countries to continue to blame their appalling healthcare on international factors - avoiding the politically difficult reforms that really would improve health.
Drug price debate needs a dose of reality
IPN Opinion article
Certain NGOs claim that intellectual property is the root cause of the health crises faced by many poor countries. This is entirely bogus and is diverting attention from more important issues.
Ethical' drugs miss heart of matter
IPN Opinion article
Scientists at Imperial College claim to be able to save millions of lives with their cheaper 'ethical pharmaceuticals'. But the fixation on the cost of medicines is diverting attention away from far more pressing issues.
High tariffs on drugs breed counterfeit medicines
IPN Opinion article
Franklin Cudjoe tells the Ghanaian minister of health how high tariffs and taxes on imported medicines in Ghana are driving people to traditional quack cures or to cheap counterfeit medicines.
Kenya's drug plan would be bitter pill
IPN Opinion article
Kenya is proposing to next week's World Health Assembly a scheme that would see much medical R&D shifted from the private to the public sector. Thompson Ayodele takes a critical look at the plan, and concludes that it would be bureaucratic, messy and counterproductive.
