An activist outside the high court after the anti-counterfeit case rulingLUSAKA, Apr 30, 2010 - Zambia has joined the list of countries in Africa that have been pushing for enactment of anti-counterfeit legislation which activists fear will undermine access to more affordable generic medicines.According to an article by Inter Press Service (IPS), Zambia is formulating an anti-counterfeit draft law which will include medicines, in spite of the controversy that has surrounded similar laws in East Africa and the fact that there is existing legislation dealing with counterfeiting.
Uganda 29 April 2010 - Uganda’s trade minister has added his voice to those opposing the controversial Counterfeit Goods Bill on the grounds that it will threaten their access to generic medicines and right to life. The bill, drafted with funding from the European Union, suggests criminal penalties for counterfeiting.
29 APRIL 2010 GENEVA – A new publication that lists medicines formulated for children is being made available online by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, to help doctors and organizations obtain some of the 240 essential medicines that can save the lives of children.According to a report published in the WHO website, an estimated 9 million children die each year from preventable and treatable causes. Improved availability and access to safe child-specific medicines is still far from reality for many children in poor countries.
Activists outside the High Court after the anticounterfeit case rulingNairobi, April 23, 2010 - Health Action International (HAI) Africa welcomes today's ruling by High Court Judge Roseline Wendo stopping the Kenyan government from implementing the Anti-Counterfeit Act, 2008 with respect to generic medicines, until a case filed in July 2009 by three people living with HIV is heard and determined.The petitioners are seeking to have the A-C Act 2008 declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it infringes on their right to life by giving a broad definition and interpretation of what constitutes counterfeit medicines. The petitioners argue this threatens their access to generic medicines and right to life.
Confusion reigns over allegations that the European Union provided funds to draft a counterfeiting bill that could make generic drugs illegal in Uganda. Asher Mullard reports.
Activists outside Nairobi High Court A Ugandan minister has said that the European Union (EU) partly funded the drafting of a contentious Ugandan Counterfeit Goods Bill
that could affect access to medicines. Activists, worried that the proposed legislation will outlaw generics, have raised alarm at the allegations.
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 15 –Medics in Kenya have cautioned Kenyans against self medication for ailments that appear not serious to warrant a visit to a specialist.
arvsAccording to a media report in the Capital News, the head of Malaria Control division at the Ministry of Public Health Elizabeth Juma was quoted saying that it was important for patients to get proper diagnosis and prescription at all times.
“When we have a headache, all of us try to make a diagnosis and you always go to a kiosk to seek treatment,” Mrs Juma said and added that there is need for behavioural change. She said the impact of self medication could be life-threatening as one may be treating a wrong ailment.
HIV accounts for a large percentage of deaths, with most deaths concentrated in six countries
A distressed mother holding a childThe Lancet April 12, 2010 –The number of women dying from pregnancy-related causes has dropped by more than 35% in the past 30 years – from more than a half-million deaths annually in 1980 to about 343,000 in 2008, according to a new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington and collaborators at the University of Queensland.
IHME’s research shows that deaths have been declining at an annual rate of about 1.4% since 1990. Contrary to previous reports that have shown very little change in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR), the global MMR – the number of women dying for every 100,000 live births – declined from 422 in 1980 to 320 in 1990. It reached 251 in 2008 and is on pace for further declines.
Dar es Salaam, Tuesday, April 06, 2010 - For two months now cancer patients in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam lacked their pain medication as the country was hit by a serious shortage of morphine. 
Patients await treatment at a health facilityA report appearing in the EastAfrican quoted director general of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute Dr Twalib Ngoma saying “Patients suffering from Cancer, Aids, Epilepsy, serious lung conditions and other long-term illnesses lived through hell in February and March.”
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