Bird flu is on the wing in Africa. It is wiping out poultry stocks in Nigeria, while neighbours nervously await its inevitable arrival - yet the supply of effective drugs everywhere is undermined by a plague of counterfeits for which governments are to blame.
In the belief that the price and supply of drugs is the greatest barrier to care for HIV/AIDS patients, certain countries have set up a new financing mechanism named UNITAID. But this is duplicative and does not address the real problems of delivering high-quality treatment.
"Europe is out of step. Instead of helping Uganda save lives, the EU threatens to ban agricultural imports from Uganda, relying on junk science and protectionism to shape its public health policy. The EU has not issued any official statement on its DDT policy, preferring to issue vague threats via the media. While the EU may not be as bold as USAID by actually buying DDT, it should stop its malicious attacks on efficiency and good science."
