Monitoring Policy Making at the United Nations |
| ||||||||||||
General Analysis on Health,
Poverty and Development
Also See GPF's Pages on:
Health, Poverty and Development
Articles and Documents
2007 | 2006 | 2005 | Archived Articles
Human Development Report 2006 (November 9, 2006)
The 2006 Human Development Report argues that water and sanitation must be put “front and centre on the development agenda.” 1.1 and 2.6 billion people do not have access to clean water and sanitation respectively, causing the death of nearly two million children annually. Reaching the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on water and sanitation would save these lives as well as bring large economic benefits to developing countries, and is essential to reaching the other seven MDGs. Hoping to see diminishing “tolerance for […] extreme inequalities,” and the G8 countries taking on a central role, the report calls for a ‘Global Action Plan’ to tackle the global water and sanitation crisis similar to the way major US and European cities tackled their deadly water and sanitation situation 100 years ago. (United Nations Development Programme)
The Lack of Funding for HIV/AIDS is Mass Murder by Complacency (January 8, 2003)
Stephen Lewis, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, paints a devastating portrait of the many ways the disease is ripping African communities apart. Lewis emphasizes that Africa is ready to fight the epidemic, as soon as Western donors awaken from their murderous complacency. (United Nations)2007
World Struggling to Treat HIV-AIDS (July 18, 2007)
The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition released a report titled “Missing the Target” which investigates AIDS treatment in 17 of the world’s poorest countries. The report argues that HIV treatment is not free in most of the countries assessed, and this limits the number of people who are able to receive “lifesaving care.” Although 700,000 more people received medication in 2007 than in 2006, the speed at which people are treated must increase. (Reuters)Climate Change: Africa's Deadly Weather Roller Coaster (July 6, 2007)
Menghestab Haile of the WFP’s Vulnerability Analysis and Mapping unit explains why climate change will impact the world’s poor and hungry the hardest in years to come. He states that Africa has been on a “weather roller coaster” for a few years, with severe droughts on one part of the continent and brutal floods in other parts. With such variations in climate, malaria could become more widespread. Menghestab also adds that the WFP implements emergency measures when disasters strike but it does not tackle climate change in the long-term. (World Food Program)Tackling Political Barriers to End AIDS (May 21, 2007)
Warning that “millions of lives are at stake,” ActionAid calls on governments to fulfill their pledge to provide universal HIV prevention, treatment and care by 2010. The world’s richest countries have thus far failed to fill the approximately US$9 billion annual AIDS funding gap, leaving 75 percent of HIV positive people and 90 percent of HIV positive pregnant women without access to antiretrovirals.Help Wanted: Confronting the Health Care Worker Crisis (May 18, 2007)
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warns that a lack of healthcare professionals will result in “hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths” from HIV/AIDS. According to this report, many international donors fund access to health clinics and antiretroviral drugs while failing to provide nurses’ wages – meaning that frequently “the medicine is available but there is nobody to administer it.” MSF blames this shortage on inadequate salaries, poor working conditions, and an inability to attract new health workers.State of the World’s Mothers 2007 (May 2007)
Save the Children’s eighth annual State of the World’s Mothers report focuses “on the 28,000 children under age 5 who die every day from easily preventable or treatable causes.” Along with an analysis on the living conditions of children worldwide, the report provides key recommendations to governments on improving children’s lives, such as ensuring the well-being of mothers, expanding health care, and increasing funding for basic medicines. The study concludes with a “Mothers’ Index,” which ranks 140 countries to show “where mothers and children fare best and where they face the greatest hardship” – Sweden and Niger, respectively.Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria Aims to Triple in Size (April 27, 2007)
In order to meet projected demand, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria – which currently supports programs that save 3,000 lives per day – aims to triple in size by 2010. Arguing that increased funding will allow greater progress toward meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals, the Fund has called on both public and private donors to “dig deeper into their pockets” and to provide more “reliable and predictable finance.” (Agence France Presse)AIDS Drugs Reach More People, UN Report Says, but Not Enough (April 18, 2007)
Although the number of people worldwide receiving drugs for AIDS has increased by 26 percent over the past three years, this New York Times article reports that this nevertheless falls far short of the UN World Health Organization’s goals. Further, despite the “substantial progress” in the treatment of AIDS, efforts to prevent the spread of HIV “are faltering or not in place.” The UN has therefore “urged governments to do more” to control the transmission of HIV – especially from mothers to their infants – in poor and middle-income countries.African Despot “Cures” AIDS (March 8, 2007)
Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh has announced that a mandate from God allows him to cure AIDS using a combination of Koranic prayers, herbs, and bananas. When a United Nations representative in Gambia questioned the “cure” – which also requires that patients stop taking anti-viral medication – Jammeh promptly “branded [her] persona non grata” and gave her 48 hours to leave the country. However, this Der Spiegel article reports, “hardly anyone in the country dares challenge him and, unfortunately, many actually believe him.”The $10 Solution (January 4, 2007)
For only US $3 each a year, argues economist Jeffrey Sachs, the one billion people in the high-income world could finance a comprehensive anti-malaria program for the entire continent of Africa. As malaria decreases worker productivity, increases the rate of population growth and, possibly, the likelihood of transmitting AIDS, this “common resolve” to reduce malaria could be the key to “unlocking Africa’s poverty trap.” (Time)2006
Patents versus Patients: Five Years After the Doha Declaration (November 14, 2006)
The ‘Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health’ asserts that WTO members must allow poor countries’ to produce generic medicines to protect public health. Five years after its enactment, Oxfam reviews the agreement, and finds that rich countries display a very poor record of honoring their promises. Through free trade agreements, the US negotiates “TRIPS-plus” rules that increase patent protection and undermine poor countries’ public health safeguards, while EU countries let their companies benefit from the US negotiated rules. Oxfam calls for rich countries to stop pushing for stricter intellectual property rules, for poor countries to resist TRIPS-plus rules, and for the WTO to review the impact of TRIPS on public health.AIDS Tests, Everywhere (October 13, 2006)
After Botswana introduced routine AIDS tests of all patients entering a clinic or hospital unless they object, the rate of Botswanans receiving antiretroviral treatment increased from 10 to 85 percent of those needing the treatment. The author of this New York Times editorial calls on UNAIDS and the World Health Organization to “move quickly to endorse opt-out AIDS testing,” and urges governments around the world to follow Botswana’s example.UN’s Airline Drug Tax “Getting Support” (October 10, 2006)
In September 2006, France, Brazil, Britain, Norway and Chile joined by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and former US President Bill Clinton, launched the international drug purchasing facility, UNITAID. Under the UN-backed project, revenue from airline ticket taxes will fund the provision of cheaper drugs to poor countries fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. According to French Foreign Minister and President of UNITAID Philippe Douste-Blazy, “countries around the globe are rallying to the idea.” 19 countries have so far agreed to levy the tax. (Reuters)Toxic Shock: How Western Rubbish Is Destroying Africa (September 21, 2006)
As Dutch trading company Trafigura Beheer offloaded 400 tons of toxic waste at a landfill near the Ivorian capital of Abidjan in August 2006, the generated fumes killed six people and forced 15,000 to seek treatment for nausea, vomiting and headaches. The incident illustrates that the practice of Western companies dumping toxic waste in poor countries continues. As rich countries’ consumption of electronic equipment keeps increasing, so does the amount of electronic waste shipped to poor countries for “recycling,” but ending up in landfills posing significant health risks to local residents. (Independent)Five Nations to Tax Airfare to Raise Funds for AIDS Drugs (September 19, 2006)
With a tax on international airline tickets France, Britain, Norway, Brazil and Chile together expect to raise $300 million in 2007 to help pay for the treatment of children with AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in poor countries. Planning to pool their buying power and join forces with the Clinton Foundation, the countries hope to negotiate volume discounts with drug companies. Some public health experts welcome the prospects for a stable source of finance for AIDS treatment, while others warn that such initiatives does not “deal with the most difficult obstacles to treatment in Africa: the extreme shortage of health workers and broken-down public health systems.” (New York Times)Letter to South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki – Expression of Concern by HIV Scientists (September 4, 2006)
Signed by 82 HIV scientists from around the world, this letter to the South African president expresses deep concern with the government’s response to the HIV epidemic and calls for the immediate removal of its minister of health. The minister disputes that HIV causes AIDS and furthermore proposes garlic, lemon and potatoes as alternative treatments for HIV infection. The minister pursues disastrous and immoral HIV policies, denying the importance of antiretroviral treatment and leaving many to die. (AIDSTruth)Governments Harshly Berated at Close of AIDS Meet (August 19, 2006)
This Inter Press Service article highlights the problems with South African, US and Canadian policies encouraging ineffective abstinence and herbal remedies programs to combat the spread of AIDS. Each of these governments lacks the political and financial dedication needed to combat the spread of the disease. Oxfam Canada’s Director Robert Fox pillories the lack of political leadership at the August 2006 international AIDS conference in Toronto.African Churches Are Hidden Weapon in AIDS War (August 6, 2006)
Released a week before the UN International AIDS Conference in Toronto, this Tearfund report calls attention to the work done by millions of church volunteers “tackling Africa’s AIDS crisis head on.” With their immense presence and extensive reach, African churches could become “one of the single most effective strategies for tackling the HIV and AIDS pandemic.” International donors need to “urgently” recognize and act on the churches’ potential. Churches, for their part, must acknowledge the stigma and discrimination of their attitudes towards sex and gender. (Tearfund)Africa's Health Shortage (July 25, 2006)
This Boston Globe editorial draws attention to the shortage of health officials in Africa. African countries lack educational facilities to train medical professionals and often lose their better educated to the Western world. The author suggests that rich countries could help minimize these losses by training more doctors and nurses of their own, and not pressure poor countries to reduce public sector spending.HIV Risk to Indian Economic Boom (July 20, 2006)
This Guardian article highlights a UN study on how the growing incidence of HIV among the Indian population will slow economic growth. Indian officials, however, claim that UN projections exaggerate the spread of HIV because they do not account for the government’s strategies to control infection rates. Still, India, which holds the position of the world’s second fastest growing major economy, may witness an economic slowdown if HIV spreads as projected.14 Nations Will Adopt Airline Tax to Pay for AIDS Drugs (June 3, 2006)
At the UN High-Level Meeting on AIDS, governments agreed to double worldwide spending aimed to slow down the spread of AIDS. But, as rich countries have pledged less than half of an estimated US$20 billion needed for preventive education and medicines, more countries and NGOs support new sources of funding. During the UN meeting, 14 governments reaffirmed their intention to implement taxes on airline tickets to raise additional money to fight AIDS. (Los Angeles Times)Epidemic Continues to Outpace Response, Says New Comprehensive Global AIDS Update (May 30, 2006)
The UNAIDS 2006 report on the global AIDS epidemic states that although AIDS is spreading at a slower pace, some regions still struggle with increasing infections. This press release emphasizes the need for continued funding, prevention, and treatment. Also, countries must better coordinate their national efforts to combat AIDS. (UNAIDS)Preventing Disease through Healthy Environments (2006)
The executive summary of this World Health Organization report suggests that human-controlled environmental factors such as unsafe drinking water, deforestation and pollution cause a quarter of all global disease. Based on studies of 80 specific diseases, the report prescribes methods to reduce disease incidence such as safe household water storage and control of toxic substances in the household. The report uses charts and graphs to illustrate the types of diseases, their location and the correlation with environmental conditions.In the Public Interest – Health, Education, and Water and Sanitation for All (2006)
This Oxfam and WaterAid report argues that public provision of health and education services play a most important role in ending global poverty. Poor country governments must commit to bigger and better investments in health and education. Rich countries, for their part, must support these initiatives and increase both quantity and quality of aid, fully cancel debt for all poor countries that need it and stop demanding budget cuts in and privatization of public services through the international financial institutions.2005
2006 | 2005 | Archived Articles
World AIDS Day 2005: Pambazuka News Interview with Stephen Lewis (December 1, 2005)
In this interview, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa urges western leaders to “keep the promise” they made at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland in July 2005. So far, governments have given only half of the money necessary to address this issue for 2006 and 2007. Furthermore, gender inequality is causing a growing “feminization” of the AIDS pandemic. (Pambazuka)The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa (October 2005)
The HIV/AIDS epidemic affects 11-12% of the world’s population, the majority of whom lives in sub-Saharan Africa. In the region, life expectancy has decreased and, in several countries, more than one in five adults have contracted the illness. This fact sheet from the Kaiser Family Foundation reiterates that the pandemic continues to pose “serious development challenges.Global Health Priorities – Priorities of the Wealthy? (April 22, 2005)
As health gains importance in the global agenda, international health policy-making has slowly moved away from public spheres and is now concentrated in the private sector. This allows the interests of transnational corporations and their shareholders to shape global health policy, weakening the effectiveness of regulation and accountability in policy-making. (Globalization and Health)AIDS Patients See Life, Death Issues in Trade Pact (April 22, 2005)
Public health experts fear that thousands of chronically ill Central Americans would suffer if the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) comes into force. By imposing even tighter regulations on medicine patents than existing World Trade Organization rules do, the proposed trade pact would drive up drug prices and make them inaccessible for people who suffer from chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS. (Los Angeles Times)When Marriage Kills (March 30, 2005)
US President George W. Bush’s program against AIDS in Africa emphasizes abstinence and marital fidelity while focusing less on distributing condoms. The well-intended policy might make sense at a White House prayer meeting, but on the ground in Africa it just means “a lot of unnecessary deaths,” says this New York Times op-ed piece. The author contends that telling sexually active people to “return to abstinence” is not likely to get far, but encouraging more use of condoms would save lives.Cheap AIDS Drugs under Threat (March 23, 2005)
Under pressure from the World Trade Organization, the Indian parliament has passed a bill that makes it illegal to copy patented drugs. Health activists say the decision is serious blow to millions of HIV/AIDS infected poor people who have received treatment mainly because of cheap Indian drugs. (Guardian)Globalization and Health (March 3, 2005)
In a time when the life expectancy gap between the rich and poor countries is exceedingly great, the prohibitive cost of health care has become an impoverishing factor. Weak health systems and lack of development aid has allowed preventable infectious diseases to claim the lives of ten million children each year. In this interview, Mexico’s Minister of Health Julio Frenk examines how health issues affect globalization and development. (Mother Jones)Long-Term Help for the Poor (February 25, 2005)
Appropriations for foreign aid are usually among the first targets when governments start thinking about where they could save money. However, the fight against AIDS requires long-term planning and support. According to this New York Times editorial, the easiest way to create a long-term stream of money is for rich countries to cancel the poorest nations’ debts. Currently, Sub-Saharan countries annually spend US$15 billion in debt service, which could be used to fight AIDS.
Archived Articles
More Information on Social and Economic Policy
More Information on Poverty and Development
More Information on Health, Poverty and Development
