# \[e-drug\] Press Review Botswana FDC meeting **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [April 3, 2004, 9:32am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-press-review-botswana-fdc-meeting/19275 "2004-04-03T09:32:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![E-drug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecd19e/32.png) [@E-drug](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/E-drug)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2004, 9:32am UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-press-review-botswana-fdc-meeting/19275/1 "2004-04-03T09:32:22Z")
E-DRUG: Press Review Botswana FDC meeting -------------------------------------------- Africa AIDS Conferees Seek US Shift On AIDS Drugs Medical authorities from around the world met in Botswana this week to chart a path through new territory: how best to judge the safety and effectiveness of relatively cheap, mostly generic drugs that could vastly expand AIDS treatment in poor countries, reports The International Herald Tribune. But some participants said they hope the meeting has a more direct result: to persuade the Bush administration to pay for generic drugs for people with HIV, rather than insisting that American assistance be spent on more expensive patented drugs. The Bush administration has pledged $15 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS in 14 African countries and the Caribbean. At least initially, the administration says it wants this money to be spent on patented drugs approved by federal regulators to ensure that the medicines are safe and effective. But AIDS activists argue that the administration is protecting the American pharmaceutical industry. The two-day conference, held in Botswana's capital, Gaborone, drew dozens of regulators, aid workers, health officials and pharmaceutical executives. They drafted principles to help regulators and drug companies evaluate the cheaper drug combinations to treat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The World Health Organization has certified four anti-AIDS drugs as safe and effective. Three are generic drugs produced by Indian companies. Not only are the generic compounds cheaper than brand-name pills, medical experts said, but they are easier for patients to take. Instead of taking six brand-name pills a day, a patient need take only two generic tablets. Lembit Rago, the coordinator for quality assurance and safety of medicines for the WHO, said the UN agency has evaluated the drugs in much the same way as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration certifies the brand-name drugs. American officials, however, say the UN agency's review is insufficient to ensure that the medications will not lead to a drug-resistant strain of AIDS. The Nation (Kenya) notes that AIDS activists and treatment providers believe the Gaborone meeting has been organized to question WHO's approval process, by drawing in experts from the pharmaceutical industry to claim that the scheme, which is supported by top-notch public health experts, is inadequate and unsafe. In an open letter to the US Government, organizers M�decins sans Fronti�res South Africa, MSF-USA and the Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines have sought a clarification on the objectives of the conference. The letter is copied to the other co-sponsors of the conference?UNAIDS, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the WHO. Paul Zeitz, the executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, also took issue with a Bush AIDS initiative report, saying: "It's remarkable how little new there is in this document and how vague it is on some of the most critical issues." "For an issue the administration repeatedly says is on a par with terrorism in importance, the narrow country focus and the lack of specificity is quite disturbing," he said. The Namibian writes that an HIV/AIDS project targeting agricultural sector was launched by Namibia's Ministry of Labor this week. The project, which is being conducted in partnership with the Hope Project, will home in on communal and commercial farmers in the Omusati, Oshana, Ohangwena, Oshikoto regions as well as the Aussenkehr grape farms in the Karas Region. It will involve farmers and workers in aiming to reduce the stigma and discrimination that often surrounds HIV/AIDS, as well as raise awareness. The project is being financially supported by the United States Department of Labor. Also, the Irish Times announces that peace and development in Africa will be among the issues for discussion between the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, and his counterparts from Mozambique and South Africa at an EU-African Union Troika meeting in Farmleigh today. It is one of the declared objectives of Ireland's European presidency to ensure that African issues are placed high on the EU agenda and to "revitalize" EU-African co-operation. Poverty, conflict and the spread of HIV/AIDS are among the main items of concern. In other news, WMRC Daily Analysis writes that the Nigerian federal government is considering changing its malaria treatment policy after recommendations from the WHO. Nigeria currently adheres to chloroquine as its front-line treatment, despite evidence of resistance to it from the falciparum parasite. Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) combination is used in cases of treatment failure and quinine is reserved for severe cases. The WHO is recommending use of artemisinin-based combination therapy. -- To send a message to E-Drug, write to: e-drug@healthnet.org To subscribe or unsubscribe, write to: majordomo@healthnet.org in the body of the message type: subscribe e-drug OR unsubscribe e-drug To contact a person, send a message to: e-drug-help@healthnet.org Information and archives: [http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug](http://www.essentialdrugs.org/edrug)