Tuesday January 12, 2010

A global pill price survey has revealed that the price of a commonly used antibiotic ‘ciprofloxacin’ is beyond the reach of many people in Africa because of its high cost. Health Action International (HAI) conducted the spot check on 30 November 2009 to ascertain the full price which a patient would pay for ciprofloxacin, in the nearest private retail pharmacy.

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NAIROBI, December 21, 2009 (IPS) - Kenya’s new Anti-Counterfeit Act will be challenged on Mar 8 next year in the country’s Constitutional Court on the basis that it violates the right to health. The petitioners, three people living with HIV, argue that the law confuses generic and fake medicine. This could cause a health crisis as generics constitute 90 percent of medicines used in Kenya.

The three petitioners want the Constitutional Court to declare the law, which was enacted in the middle of this year, unconstitutional on the grounds that it will deny them access to affordable life-saving generic medicines and therefore rob them off their right to life, says Peter Munyi, an intellectual property rights lawyer working with Health Action International (HAI) Africa.

HAI Africa is part of a global network working to increase access to life-saving medicines.

KAMPALA, November 6, 2009 (IPS) - Uganda is considering an anti-counterfeit bill which analysts say will impair the country’s ability to import and export cheap but effective generic medicines. Activists fear that the bill, once enacted, will deny Ugandans access to safe, effective, quality and affordable generic medication which currently forms the bulk of Uganda’s medicine imports.