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Joint UNAIDS/UNDP Brief Highlights Potential Impacts Of Free Trade Agreements On Public Health

June 4, 2012 Morning Briefing

“A new UNAIDS/UNDP joint issues brief [.pdf] highlights the potential impacts of free trade agreements on public health,” UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its website. “The brief concludes that ‘to retain the benefits of [flexibilities in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)], countries at a minimum should avoid entering into free trade agreements that contain obligations that can impact on pharmaceutical price or availability,'” the article states. It adds that “the potential impact of a number of current or planned free trade agreement negotiations taking place across the world — particularly affecting countries in the Asia and the Pacific region — can hinder countries’ rights to implement such flexibilities” (6/1).

Tackling ‘Hidden Crisis’ Of Childhood Undernutrition Critical

May 21, 2012 Morning Briefing

“[N]early more than 170 million children under age five suffer from undernutrition, a hidden crisis that robs them — and their countries — of a healthy and prosperous future,” Cat Cora, chef and founder of Chefs for Humanity, writes in an opinion piece on the Feed the Future website. “It’s critical to tackle this problem, placing a particular emphasis on the first 1,000 days from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, as this is the time to ensure healthy growth and development,” she continues, adding, “I’m thrilled that fighting hunger and poverty remain high on the G8 agenda” (5/18).

UNAIDS Executive Director Calls On African Leaders To Reduce ‘Triple Dependency’ On External Sources Of HIV Drugs, Commodities, Technologies

June 7, 2012 Morning Briefing

“Delivering a speech at [Wednesday’s] opening session of the 16th Conference of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA), UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe congratulated leaders across the region for their personal commitment to the HIV response, specifically with regard to upholding human rights and protecting human capital,” UNAIDS reports in an article on its website. “Addressing eight Heads of State and other high-level participants in Lome, Togo, he called on African leaders to reduce their ‘triple dependency’ on external sources for HIV drugs, commodities, and technologies,” the agency writes, adding, “To ensure the health and security of their populations, African leaders should focus greater attention and resources on the local production of medicines, said the UNAIDS executive director” (6/6).

Censorship Of Public Health Websites By Russian Drug Agency An ‘Assault’ On HIV Prevention

February 10, 2012 Morning Briefing

“Amidst pro-democracy protests, the Russian authorities have taken what is an ongoing assault on HIV prevention to the next level by moving to silence public health advocates whose only infraction has been to spread lifesaving information online and to criticize the government for its own failures,” Eka Iakobishvili, a human rights analyst at Harm Reduction International, and Claudia Stoicescu, an analyst on Harm Reduction International’s public health research team, write in this Huffington Post opinion piece. “While Prime Minister Putin spoke glowingly of digital democracy” in a recent column praising the potential for “internet-based democracy,” “his anti-drugs agency is censoring websites for writing about WHO essential medicine,” the authors note.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Addresses World Medical Association In Geneva

May 23, 2012 Morning Briefing

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published on its website a transcript of a speech about women’s health, delivered by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to the World Medical Association in Geneva on Tuesday. “For too long, too many women and girls have had their lives marred by illness or disability, just because they didn’t have access to health services. When we deprive women of the care and support they need to stay healthy or get well, we’re also robbing them of hope for the future. … So under President Obama, we’re putting a new focus on women’s health — at home and abroad,” she said, according to the transcript (5/22).

Russian Government’s Censorship Of Websites With Harm Reduction Methods For Drug Users Helps Fuel HIV Epidemic, IPS Reports

February 21, 2012 Morning Briefing

“A recent government crackdown on Russian media, particularly online information portals specializing in health tips and harm reduction methods for drug users, has sparked widespread public opposition, with critics claiming that the ‘draconian silencing’ of public health advocates could worsen an already perilous health situation in the country,” Inter Press Service reports. “Given that Russia currently has one of the largest populations of injecting drug users in the world as well as one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics, the dissemination of such information is essential to keep the spread of the virus under control,” IPS writes. “The fact that the United Nations listed universal treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS as one of its most urgent millennium development goals (MDGs) — with a deadline of achieving universal treatment by 2015 — human rights and health advocates contend that Russia’s failure to allow information or services helpful to drug users breaches international human rights and public health laws,” according to the news service (Klomegah, 2/17).