Social Issues
Free the industry, not the drugs
IPN Opinion article
If chanting slogans and booing speakers could magically create new innovative drugs, this week\'s Barcelona AIDS Conference could be considered a raging success. Activists have certainly put their moral righteousness on display as they pour abuse on pharmaceutical companies. On Tuesday they prevented a U.S. cabinet member from speaking. The U.N. organizers of the conference have smiled benignly on it all. But despite the posturing, the idea that giving greater powers to government at the expense of the private drug companies will lead to more sustainable drug delivery is deeply flawed.
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Slowing birth of AIDS drug
IPN Opinion article
AT THE WORLD Summit on Sustainable Development, in September, Peter Piot, head of UNAIDS, told delegates he was upset that AIDS discussions were not more prominent on the summit agenda.
He will be even more upset when he learns of the latest data to come out concerning AIDS research: There are between 5 percent and 30 percent fewer anti-AIDS drugs in development than there were a few years ago.
\'Fair\' trade is about empowerment
IPN Opinion article
Sir, In your editorial \"Bitter coffee\" (September 19) you suggest that Oxfam\'s pressure on companies will help poor coffee farmers. However, Oxfam\'s definition of \"fair\" trade is to impose quality standards set by the International Coffee Organisation which, by increasing costs for multinationals, will help small coffee producers but disadvantage poor farmers, consumers and companies alike.
AIDS activists hinder their cause
IPN Opinion article
Two weeks ago at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the head of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, told delegates that he was upset that AIDS discussions were not higher up the agenda of the summit. He will be even more upset when he sees the latest data to come out about AIDS research.
There are between 5 percent and 30% fewer anti-AIDS drugs in development than there were a few years ago.
NGOs play big role in AIDS plans
IPN Opinion article
The head of UNAIDS, Peter Piot, is angry the discussion of the AIDS pandemic is so low on the agenda of the World Summit for Sustainable Development and that African ministers are so lukewarm to the issue. He was expected to tell WSSD delegates Friday night he is annoyed by the lack of government action on controlling acquired immune deficiency syndrome on the African continent.
What\'s on the table at the Earth Summit
IPN Opinion article
For the past 15 years \"sustainable development\" has been a key phrase for the environmental movement. It is most commonly defined as: \"development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.\" Few can argue with the notion of meeting current and future needs, but there is widespread dispute about how to achieve this aim.
Economic empowerment is key to fighting HIV/Aids in Africa
IPN Opinion article
Poverty is making the African people come up with strategies that may scare inventors and innovators. Simply lobbying for cheap drugs may not help. A counter lobby may exist that may link the quest for cheap drugs to foreign aid. What then is the solution to the threat of Africa becoming a continent of orphans?
It is urgent that the issue of economic empowerment in Africa through trade, good governance and rule of law be addressed. To fight Aids, empower the Africans economically.
Africa\'s economic tragedy
IPN Opinion article
As countries seek to tackle HIV/AIDS and other calamities its instructive that the political process be streamlined. Policies that enhance freedom and prosperity are needed urgently to reverse the economic tragedy. The African ruling elites ought to understand that they stand to benefit more with a prosperous population than with an impoverished, sickly nation.
Weapon against malaria is ignored
IPN Opinion article
South Africa recently controlled a malaria epidemic by spraying the DDT insecticide on the insides of houses, where the Anopheles mosquitoes rest. This led to an 80 per cent decline in malaria cases in a year. Unfortunately, donor agencies are loath to fund the use of DDT and are generally reluctant to support insecticide use (except in bed nets) because of pressure from environmentalists within their organisations and at home.
It is an outrage that the most cost-effective method of controlling malaria and saving lives is being sidelined because it is deemed \"unsustainable\". No one is arguing that insecticide should be the only weapon, but many of the supposedly more environmentally friendly alternatives only sustain poverty, death and illness in malarial countries.
