A new United Nations report showing significant progress in improving access to HIV/AIDS services in 37 developing countries offers realistic hope for the achievement of universal access, a UN official responsible for battling the pandemic said today. Towards Universal Access, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and released today, assesses progress in 144 low- and...
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New approach to HIV treatment could save 10 million lives, says UN report
A new United Nations report says that a radically simplified approach to ensuring access to HIV treatment for everyone who needs it could prevent 10 million deaths by 2025 and 1 million new infections annually. The so-called Treatment 2.0, says the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), could lower the cost of treatment, simplify treatment regimens, ease the burden on health systems, and improve the quality of life for people living...
More »UN releases first-ever guidance to improve use of medicines for children
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) issued today its first-ever guidance on how to use more than 240 essential medicines for treatment of children aged 12 and below. “To be effective, medicines must be carefully chosen and the dose adjusted to suit the age, weight and needs of children,” said Hans Hogerzeil, director of essential medicines and pharmaceutical policies at WHO . “Without a global guide, many health-care professionals...
More »A bad example from the US by Leena Menghaney
India has played a crucial role in making essential medicines available and affordable for patients in the developing world through generic drugs. This has been possible by linking India’s patent policies and laws to public interest. Similarly, policies that align public funded R&D in India with public health have the potential to provide incentives to the development of medical technologies (vaccines, diagnostics and medicines) crucial for treating neglected diseases like...
More »UN reports promising trend in HIV infection rates, record numbers living with virus
The trend in new HIV infections around the world has slowed markedly over the past eight years, according to a United Nations report released today, which also notes that more people than ever before are living with the virus. The 2009 AIDS Epidemic Update reported that new HIV infections have been slashed by 17 per cent globally and that some 33.4 million people are now living with HIV, while AIDS-related...
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