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HAI Africa has published its 2007 annual report. The report covers HAI Africa's activities in the past year, including:

• Collaboration activities with WHO in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda 
• Network members' meeting
• Access to essential medicines meeting
• Administration and finance 

Second Regional Meeting of the African Civil Society Coalition on the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Health

Last year in August 2007 the Africa Civil Society Coalition on IGWG (IGWG being the WHO Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights) was established at a regional meeting organized by HAI Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. The CSOs met to discuss and provide inputs tot he position of African Member States on the IGWG process. At the end of their first meeting the Coalition's produced a position paper on the draft IGWG strategy and plan of action which was widely circulated and well received in various fora. Much more will be happening at IGWG II  this year and beyond, and the voices of civil society again need to be heard, especially in a few contentious areas. 

The Civil Society Coalition therefore met again on 3rd-4th April 2008 in Arusha Tanzania. At this second meeting the Coalition members reiterated their commitment to the on-going  WHO initiative and issued a statement to the African Member States calling upon them to actively support and advocate for measures that will expand the development of mediciens and vaccinations for the special needs of developing countries at the forthcoming IGWG II bis negotiations that will take place in Geneva from April 28 to May 4, 2008.

The current issue of the Practical Pharmacy newsletter focuses on tuberculosis (TB):

• What is TB?
• How is TB treated?
• TB medicines 
• Drug resistant TB
• TB and HIV
• TB and pregnancy
• TB in children 

Inside the latest HAI Africa Network Update:

• Stakeholders discuss access and rational use of essential medicines in Africa
  Medicine experts and stakeholders from 15 sub-Saharan countries converged in Nairobi to discuss issues surrounding access to and
  rational use of medicines
  
• Local manufacturers to receive technology transfer
  Pharmaceutical firm, Roche has entered into four new technology transfer agreements with local manufacturing companies in four African and Asian countries
  
• Access to information is fundamental to rational prescribing
  Irrational use of drugs contributes to death and suffering worldwide, and especially in developing countries.
  
• Civil society raises alarm on the effects of the Kenyan political crisis on health
  The violent skirmishes that followed the post-election crisis in Kenya in late December 2007, have severely affected many Kenyan’s right to health.
  
• Consumer testimonies on affordability and availability of essential medicines in Kenya
  According to regular medicine price and availability monitoring surveys, many Kenyans cannot access the medicines they need.
  
• Ghana commended for safety monitoring
  Ghana has been commended for playing a leading role in the establishment of safety monitoring systems for medicines in Africa.