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.”

KAMPALA, Tuesday, April 06, 2010 - It is good news for Uganda once again as two Ugandan drug manufacturing plants achieved certification critical to in-country manufacture of new age malaria drugs.

medprice-project-014According to media reports in the EastAfrican, Indian pharmaceutical giant Cipla has certified the artemisinin powder extracted by Western Uganda based Afro-Alpine Pharma as meeting required standards for the ingredient while the World Health Organisation (WHO) has finally prequalified the advanced pharmaceutical plant that Quality Chemicals Ltd set up in a joint venture with Cipla.

Harare Saturday, April 3, 2010 - ZIMBABWE has yet again been hit by a serious shortage of drugs after the country's leading pharmaceuticals manufacturer, Caps Holdings (Pvt) Limited closed one of its factories late last year.

A distressed mother at a health facilityThe move by the Caps Holdings subsidiary followed a directive from the medicines regulatory authority which questioned the company's decision to produce drugs from its newly-refurbished plant before it had been inspected.

According to media reports in the Standard newspaper in Harare, the closure has resulted in patients failing to access both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescribed drugs.

Pharmacists in the country feared that the situation could worsen if immediate remedial measures were not taken. They said children and patients with diseases such as high blood pressure and asthma were the most affected.

One pharmacist was quoted saying: "It is a situation which can degenerate into a crisis if nothing is done urgently. The alternative drugs, mostly imports, are beyond the reach of
ordinary people."

Wednesday, March 31 2010 -

The World Health Organization (WHO) already endorses the treatment, but specialists say many people are not given the medicine.

tbpatientKAMPALA, Tuesday 31,  March 2010 -  Persistent drug shortages in public health facilities in Uganda have made the number of patients at government health centres to decline due to unreliable drug supplies.

The New Vision website has quoted Uganda’s health state minister Richard Nduhura who said the shortage had led some patients to stay at home without treatment.