Initiatives on Malaria ... (11)
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Ole Skovmand wrote:
Initiatives on Malaria ... (3)
Another student said that one of the main points was that many Afri-
cans did not care so much about their health unless they got sick,
and prevention was not in their interest...
It is not that many Africans do not care so much about their health un-
less they got sick, it is that the majority - the rural, the margi-
nalised and the underprivileged population - are poor and have such
overwhelming needs and such meagre resources that they are unable to
procure even their basic health needs. Furthermore, they greatly lack
proper and adequate health information to make informed choices and de-
cisions. Studies have demonstrated the big effect of treatment for ma-
laria when patients were provided with better information.
Prevention IS in their interest, especially if they have the knowledge
and can make informed decisions. But the people who need the malaria
drug most are poor and cannot afford them, thus there is no substantial
market of commercial interest to draw substantial financial resources
for research and development as is the case for HIV/AIDS, for example,
or Obesity, the newest WHO-declared epidemic, which would have a very
large market in rich countries. One is forced to realistically accept
that commercial interest is a major factor in finding cures for dis-
eases, not the needs of the poor, thus as Gerald McLaughlin has noted,
steps need to be taken to allow reasonable profit margins, to help
stimulate effective product development and introduction by the private
sector.
Millicent Akinsulure,
MLS London, Ontario, Canada
mailto:cwbrown@odyssey.on.ca
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